John Chrysostom, On the Samaritan Woman

2. For the son of thunder, the divine John, says: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Give me the only-begotten, that I may bestow upon the world the Only-begotten; sacrifice your son, not that you should sacrifice, but that I may sacrifice my only-begotten Son for the salvation of the world, a living, well-pleasing, holy sacrifice. So also here: Give me to drink, not that I may drink, but that I may give to drink. The woman says to him: How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. The woman is precise; in these things the harlot takes pride; in these things the harlot shows the observance of the law. Such is the race of the Samaritans; it is defiled in fornications, and they think to be cleansed by baptisms. How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, who am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. They fill the soul with stain, and they seem to wipe the body clean.

So also the Samaritan woman; having her soul steeped in fornication, she argues about the drinking of water. What then does Jesus do? He did not reject her; he did not say to her: I am God from God; I established the heaven, and I founded the earth; and you argue with me about waters and drinking, and you a woman defiled by sins? but what? If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. Did you see how little by little he stirred her longing into desire, saying, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. What then again does the woman say to him? Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from where then do you have this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock? The woman had a great image concerning the patriarch Jacob (pay attention, I beseech you, with all accuracy); the Samaritan woman had a great estimation of Jacob, and she had a great opinion of him, as of a patriarch, as of a righteous man, since he became the father of the twelve patriarchs; for the twelve tribes of Israel came from Jacob. Not only this, but also that he wrestled with God, and was found strong, so that God even said to him: Let me go, for the day has broken. And God, wrestling with a man, was saying: Let me go, for you are my friend 59.538; and the day has broken. But he: I will not let you go unless you bless me. What does this signify, and what is this wrestling of God with man, if not that he was about to put on our flesh for our sake? What then does God say to him? Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but your name shall be Israel, for you have striven with God, and with men you shall be powerful.

Therefore, the woman had a great estimation of the patriarch; for this reason she said to the Lord, Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock? What then does Christ do? See the wisdom of the Master; see the gentleness of the Teacher. He did not say to her, 'Yes, I am greater than your father Jacob'; Nor did he say to her, as he said to the Jews, 'Before Abraham was, I am'; or again as he said, 'Amen I say to you, that many kings and righteous men along with the prophets desired to see what you see, and did not see it.' He said none of these things to the woman, but he sets aside the dispute about the patriarch, and from what is apparent he makes the battle stronger. For if he had said to her, 'Yes, I am greater than Jacob; for he received the blessing from me, and I bestowed it on him'; she, unable to look upon such a height of revelations, would have quickly fled. Therefore, he said none of these things

βʹ. Φησὶ γὰρ ὁ τῆς βροντῆς υἱὸς ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἰωάννης· Οὕτω γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ

Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν, μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ' ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. ∆ός μοι τὸν μονογενῆ, ἵνα χαρίσωμαι τῷ κόσμῳ τὸν Μο νογενῆ· θῦσον τὸν υἱόν σου, οὐχ ἵνα θύσῃς, ἀλλ' ἵνα θύσω τὸν Υἱόν μου τὸν μονογενῆ ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου σω τηρίας, θυσίαν ζῶσαν, εὐάρεστον, ἁγίαν. Οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα· ∆ός μοι πιεῖν, οὐχ ἵνα πίω, ἀλλ' ἵνα ποτίσω. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ γυνή· Πῶς σὺ, Ἰουδαῖος ὢν, παρ' ἐμοῦ πιεῖν αἰτεῖς, γυναικὸς Σαμαρείτιδος; οὐ γὰρ συγχρῶνται Ἰουδαῖοι Σαμαρείταις. Ἀκριβὴς ἡ γυνή· ἐν τούτοις ἡ πόρνη φιλοτιμεῖται· ἐν τούτοις ἡ πόρνη τὴν φυλακὴν τοῦ νόμου δείκνυσι. Τοιοῦτον τυγχάνει τὸ τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν γένος· ἐν πορνείαις μιαίνεται, καὶ ἐν βαπτίσμασι καθαρίζεσθαι νομίζουσιν. Πῶς σὺ, Ἰου δαῖος ὢν, παρ' ἐμοῦ πιεῖν αἰτεῖς, οὔσης γυναικὸς Σαμαρείτιδος; οὐ γὰρ συγχρῶνται Ἰουδαῖοι Σαμαρείταις. Τὴν ψυχὴν κηλῖδος πληροῦσι, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀποσμήχειν δοκοῦσιν.

Οὕτω καὶ ἡ Σαμαρεῖτις· τὴν ψυ χὴν ἐν πορνείαις πεφυρμένην ἔχουσα, περὶ πόσεως ὑδά των δικάζεται. Τί οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς; Οὐκ ἀπεσείσατο αὐτήν· οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Ἐγὼ Θεός εἰμι ἐκ Θεοῦ· ἐγὼ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐστερέωσα, καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐθεμελίωσα· καὶ περὶ ὑδάτων καὶ πόσεως δικάζῃ μοι, καὶ ταῦτα γυνὴ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις μεμιασμένη; ἀλλὰ τί; Εἰ ᾔδεις τὴν δω ρεὰν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ λέγων σοι, ∆ός μοι πιεῖν, σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν, καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. Εἶδες, πῶς κατ' ὀλίγον διήγειρεν αὐτῆς τὸν πόθον εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν, εἰπὼν, Εἰ ᾔδεις τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ λέγων σοι, ∆ός μοι πιεῖν, σὺ ἂν ᾔτη σας αὐτὸν, καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. Τί οὖν πάλιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή; Κύριε, οὔτε ἄντλημα ἔχεις, καὶ τὸ φρέαρ ἐστὶ βαθύ· πόθεν οὖν ἔχεις καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ζῶν; Μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακὼβ, ὃς ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν τὸ φρέαρ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐ τοῦ ἔπιεν, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ θρέμματα αὐτοῦ; Μεγάλην τινὰ φαντασίαν εἶχεν ἡ γυνὴ περὶ τοῦ πατριάρ χου Ἰακώβ (προσέχετε, παρακαλῶ, μετὰ πάσης ἀκρι βείας)· ὑπόληψιν μεγάλην εἶχεν περὶ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἡ Σα μαρεῖτις γυνὴ, καὶ μεγάλην εἶχε τὴν δόξαν περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὡς περὶ πατριάρχου, ὡς περὶ δικαίου, ἐπειδήπερ οὗτος ἐγένετο τῶν δώδεκα πατριαρχῶν πατήρ· αἱ γὰρ δεκαδύο φυλαὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἐγένοντο. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τοῦτο, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἐπάλαισε μετὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ εὑρέθη δυνατὸς, ὡς καὶ τὸν Θεὸν εἰπεῖν πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἀπόλυ σόν με διότι ἀνέβη ὁ ὄρθρος. Καὶ Θεὸς μετὰ ἀνθρώ που παλαίων, ἔλεγεν· Ἀπόλυσόν με, διότι φίλος μου 59.538 εἶ· καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ ὄρθρος. Ὁ δέ· Οὐ μή σε ἀπολύσω, ἐὰν μή με εὐλογήσῃς. Τί τοῦτο δηλῶν, καὶ τίς ἡ πάλη τοῦ Θεοῦ μετὰ ἀνθρώπου, ἢ ὅτι τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς δι' ἡμᾶς ἔμελλεν ἐνδύσασθαι σάρκα; Τί οὖν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς αὐτόν; Οὐκ ἔτι κληθήσῃ Ἰακὼβ, ἀλλ' ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου Ἰςραὴλ, ὅτι ἐνίσχυσας μετὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων δυνατὸς ἔσῃ.

Μεγάλην οὖν εἶχεν ὑπόληψιν περὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἡ γυνή· διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγε τῷ Κυρίῳ, Μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακὼβ, ὃς ἔδωκε ἡμῖν τὸ φρέαρ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔπιεν, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐ τοῦ, καὶ τὰ θρέμματα αὐτοῦ; Τί οὖν ὁ Χριστός; Βλέπε τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ ∆εσπότου· βλέπε τὴν ἐπιείκειαν τοῦ ∆ιδασκάλου. Οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, Ναὶ ἐγὼ μείζων εἰμὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν Ἰακώβ· Οὐδὲ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, καθὼς εἶπεν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ὅτι Πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι, ἐγώ εἰμι· ἢ πάλιν ὡς ἔλεγεν, Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι πολλοὶ βα σιλεῖς καὶ δίκαιοι σὺν τοῖς προφήταις ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν, ἃ ὑμεῖς βλέπετε, καὶ οὐκ εἶδον. Οὐδὲν τούτων εἶπε τῇ γυναικὶ, ἀλλὰ καταστέλλει τὴν πάλην τὴν εἰς τὸν πατριάρχην, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ τὴν μάχην ἰσχυρο τέραν ποιεῖ. Εἰ γὰρ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, ὅτι Ναὶ μείζων εἰμὶ τοῦ Ἰακώβ· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ παρ' ἐμοῦ τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐδέ ξατο, ἐγὼ δὲ παρέσχον αὐτὴν αὐτῷ· ταχέως ἂν ἐκείνη πρὸς τοσοῦτον ὕψος ἀποκαλύψεων ἀντιβλέψαι μὴ δυνα μένη, φεύγειν ἂν εἶχεν. Οὐδὲν οὖν τούτων εἶπεν