Who Was the Samaritan Woman at the Well: A Scriptural Perspective

Who was she, really?

In the past month, I have heard two pastors refer to the Samaritan woman at the well as a "whore." I want to be kind and gentle in this blog. However, I feel that intentional acts of kindness have often fallen flat in our pastoral community. So, true to what I feel God leading me to do, I hope to offer a scripturally sound perspective on our Samaritan woman.

Be warned: this blog may carry a bit of spunk and spice.

I do not believe the Samaritan woman at the well is a divorced whore.

The story of the woman at the well has been dissected ad nauseam. This is why I am baffled when I still hear her called a divorced whore. The scripture I will reference is found in John 4:4-42.

I have a deep compassion for the Samaritan woman. She has been misrepresented for hundreds of years. Calling her a whore is a fallacy; it is not in the scripture. I’ve been divorced three times, and the erroneous judgment I receive from people misunderstanding my situation brings this woman close to my heart. I'm not even sure she has been divorced. But, I’m getting ahead of myself…

I could spend this blog focused on why a patriarchal society would benefit from the “whore” translation. Instead, I would like to explore who she factually might have been.

Not Divorced

I do not see the words “whore,” “prostitute,” or “divorce” in the scripture. They aren’t in any translation. It simply says she had “five husbands.”

John 4:16-18:

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

18 Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

The presentation of our Samaritan woman as a whore or divorcee is a misrepresentation of the truth. It is an outright misinterpretation of scripture. Here are two perspectives regarding her marital status.

Perspective 1: Widowhood

Why did she have five husbands? Research indicates that only 16% of men lived past age 40 during Christ's time. If I assume 50% of men lived past age 30, there is a high likelihood that her previous husbands died. Thus, she might have been a widow—five times over. Scripture addresses widows (Ex. 22:22, Deut 10:18) and emphasizes the need to treat them with kindness and respect, just as Christ treated her. What if the woman at the well was a widow and not a divorced whore?

Perspective 2: The Nature of Divorce

Let’s assume for a moment that she was indeed divorced five times. Typically, divorce in biblical times was a choice made by men. Women rarely had the option to initiate divorce. If husbands caused the end of her marriages, she was left at their mercy. Historically, there were two accepted beliefs posed by powerful rabbis about divorce. Shammai believed it was only allowed for sexual immorality, while Hillel thought men could divorce for any reason. Jesus discusses this in Matthew 19:8.

If I adhere to Shammai and her husbands divorced her due to sexual immorality, I wonder, why would four other men line up to marry her if she demonstrated loose morals? It doesn’t add up. Conversely, if I align with Hillel, what does this suggest about the character of the men in her community?

In summary, I propose that her first husbands may have died, or at least a few of them might have perished, which led her to make survival decisions, causing remarriage.

Not Living in Shame

Again, let’s suppose she was divorced five times.

Perspective 1: Jesus' Approach

Jesus points out that she is living with a man who isn’t her husband. Interestingly, He never tells her, “go and sin no more.” Throughout scripture, Jesus calls out sin with unrestrained honesty. For instance, in John 8:11, He addresses the woman caught in adultery and instructs her to “go and sin no more.” Why wouldn’t He admonish the Samaritan woman in a similar manner? Could it be that she needed a place to live but wasn’t engaging in any wrongdoing? Perhaps she wasn’t living in sin after all.

Perspective 2: The Value of Dowry

Historically, when women married, their husbands received a dowry. If she had been married five times, wouldn’t it make sense that she came with a valuable dowry? This would encourage men to marry her. I doubt she was a destitute woman looking for a man to share her bed. In fact, I suspect she was a high commodity in her community and, again, not living in shame.

Explore New Ideas

I hope you feel open to exploring new ideas that challenge conventional narratives.

“Life is a progress, and not a station.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stay tuned for the grand finale in Part 2.

For more information about me, please visit www.notacasserolewidow.com or www.coachinghope4u.com.

“Women outlive men, but they have to partner with deadwood—a mindless slug can stay alive.”