Samaritan Woman ≠ Divorced Whore, Part 2:

This blog is PART 2 of my exploration into the Samaritan woman at the well. You can find PART 1 HERE.

3.        Not despised by her community. I’m gonna blow your mind with two more thoughts, so hang in here with me. (Click here for Part 1)

Perspective 1: What time did the Samaritan woman show up at the well?

John 4:6-8: "Jacob’s Well was also there, and Jesus, tired out by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus told her, 'Please give me a drink,' 8 since his disciples had gone off into town to buy food."

Notice the period after the word “noon”? That period indicates a pause before a new thought. 

We have no idea what time the Samaritan woman truly arrived except it was between noon and when the disciples went to the town to buy food for dinner. We do know she showed up AFTER Jesus “sat down by the well.” Did he take a nap? Rest, pray? There is no reference to when she actually stepped up to the well.

I explored when the disciples might have gone to town based on the historical period and their need to prepare for dinner.

“Time of eating. Only two meals a day were usually eaten (Exod 16:12; 1 Kings 17:6). The laborer worked until midday before taking his first meal. The noon meal was not important, usually consisting of bread, olives, and sometimes fruit. The chief meal of the day (and prob. the only one for the poor) was served in the early evening, an hour or two before sunset when the duties of the day were over. It was a time of rest, refreshment, and family reunion. After the meal for an hour or two before bedtime the men sat around and talked (cf. Jer 15:17). https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Meals#:~:text=a.&text=Only%20two%20meals%20a%20day,Jer%2015:17.

Given the above historical reference, I’m wondering if she might have arrived in the late afternoon, before dinner. It seems logical that the disciples, who went to “buy food”, traveled to purchase dinner after they rested, before the evening meal. What if the Samaritan woman came to draw water in the late afternoon before her evening meal?

Perspective 2: Was she an outcast and alone? The scripture never says the woman was alone. The scripture says, “a Samaritan woman came to draw water.” Jesus focused on her in spite of the cultural dictate of not speaking to women, not drinking after women, not having intellectual debates with women, and certainly not interacting with Samaritans.

Assuming she was the only person at the well is comparable to assuming there was only one woman in the crowd when the bleeding woman touched Jesus. Even though scripture never mentions another woman in the crowd that day, I’ve never seen the event interpreted as “the lone woman crawled her way through a sea of men to touch Jesus’ shawl”. Let’s give Christ some credit here. He is the person in charge of this interaction and knew who she was. He CHOSE her for a reason.

Christ knew these three unique things about our Samaritan Woman:

A. She was educated: John 4:25 (NIV): "The woman said, 'I know that Messiah' (called Christ) 'is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.'” She knew scripture.

B. She was respected: John 4:28-29 (NIV): "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?' '" AND John 4:42 (NIV)"They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.'” She told an entire town something unbelievable, and everyone, even men, valued her words.

C. She was honorable: John 4:27 (NIV) "Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, 'What do you want?' or 'Why are you talking with her?'" Does this hit anyone as weird? Was she dressed in a manner that separated her from an impoverished woman? Their response here contrasts with some other situations in which they are blunt and challenge Jesus’ actions. (Matthew 19:13, Mark 5:31) What made this time different? Was it because she was a Samaritan or because she was a woman or both? Or something else? 

As I conclude these ideas, I know I want to feel adored by Christ, and I want you to feel adored by Christ. Our ongoing condescension toward this remarkable woman does not align with Christ’s values of compassion and respect. The inaccurate interpretation of this scripture exacerbates the challenges my divorcing clients, already fighting unwarranted shame, experience. The Samaritan woman has been laden with misleading accusations of “whore” and “divorced”. Let’s move beyond the false rendition of this woman.

The Samaritan woman at the well is not a divorced whore.

All we really know about her is she was a messenger,

chosen by Christ to share a powerful truth.

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” - Confucius

Let’s give God the honor of believing His words, rather than embracing familiar lies.

If you want more information about how intimate betrayal impacts relationships, please find me at www.notacasserolewidow.com or www.coachinghope4u.com