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Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, as did his sons, and his cattle?"
Verse Takeaways
1
Tradition vs. Truth
The woman challenges Jesus by appealing to her ancestor, Jacob, and the well he provided. Commentators explain this shows a common human tendency to elevate tradition and heritage to a point where it can become a barrier to recognizing a new and greater work of God. We are cautioned not to let reverence for past figures, however great, obscure the supreme glory and authority of Christ.
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John
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14
18th Century
Presbyterian
Art thou greater? Are you wiser, or better able to find water, than Jacob was? It seems that she supposed he meant he could direct her to …
Art thou (Μη συ ε). Expecting a negative answer.
Greater than our father Jacob (μειζων ε του πατρος ημων Ι…
19th Century
Anglican
Are you greater . . .?—Again, the pronoun is the emphatic word: “You surely are not greater.” Their impl…
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Baptist
Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Jes…
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…
16th Century
Protestant
Art thou greater than our father Jacob? She proceeds to charge him with arrogance for exalting himself above the holy patriarch Jacob.…
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Are you greater than our father Jacob A person of greater worth and character than he, who was content to drink of t…
There was great hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. Christ's road from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria. We should not go into places o…
13th Century
Catholic
At Jesus answered and said to her, the Evangelist gives us Christ’s spiritual teaching.
First, he gives the teaching itse…
