Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 4:12

"Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" — John 4:12 (ASV)

The woman’s reference to “our father Jacob” was perhaps designed to bolster the importance of the Samaritans in the eyes of a Jewish rabbi. She was well aware of the low esteem the Jews had of her people.