John 4:5
New International Version
So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

New Living Translation
Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

English Standard Version
So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Berean Standard Bible
So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Berean Literal Bible
Therefore He comes to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

King James Bible
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

New King James Version
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

New American Standard Bible
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

NASB 1995
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

NASB 1977
So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

Legacy Standard Bible
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

Amplified Bible
So He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

Christian Standard Bible
so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph.

American Standard Version
So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he came to a Samaritan city called Shikar, beside the village that Jaqob had given to his son Joseph.

Contemporary English Version
and on his way he came to the town of Sychar. It was near the field that Jacob had long ago given to his son Joseph.

Douay-Rheims Bible
He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

English Revised Version
So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He arrived at a city in Samaria called Sychar. Sychar was near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Good News Translation
In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

International Standard Version
So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Literal Standard Version
He comes, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the place that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

Majority Standard Bible
So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

New American Bible
So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

NET Bible
Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

New Revised Standard Version
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

New Heart English Bible
So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then he cometh to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground, that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Weymouth New Testament
and so He came to Sychar, a town in Samaria near the piece of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

World English Bible
So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Young's Literal Translation
He cometh, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the place that Jacob gave to Joseph his son;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
4Now He had to pass through Samaria. 5So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.…

Cross References
Genesis 33:19
And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver.

Genesis 48:22
And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow."

Joshua 24:32
And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph's descendants.

1 Kings 13:32
for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass."

Luke 9:52
He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.

John 4:6
Since Jacob's well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

John 4:8
(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)


Treasury of Scripture

Then comes he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

the parcel.

Genesis 33:19
And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.

Genesis 48:22
Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Joshua 24:32
And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Jump to Previous
Bit City Field Ground Jacob Joseph Parcel Piece Plot Samaria Samar'ia
Jump to Next
Bit City Field Ground Jacob Joseph Parcel Piece Plot Samaria Samar'ia
John 4
1. Jesus talks with a woman of Samaria, and reveals his identity to her.
27. His disciples marvel.
31. He declares to them his zeal for God's glory.
39. Many Samaritans believe on him.
43. He departs into Galilee, and heals the ruler's son that lay sick at Capernaum.














(5) The "Samaria" of this chapter is the province into which the older kingdom had degenerated, and which took its name from the capital city. This was the Shom?ron built by Omri, on a hill purchased from Shemer (1Kings 16:23-24). The city was given by Augustus to Herod the Great, who rebuilt it, and called it after the Emperor, Sebaste, a name which survives in the modern village Sebustieh.

Sychar involves questions of greater uncertainty. The reading may be regarded as beyond doubt, the attempts to substitute "Sychem," or "Sichem" being obviously made to avoid the topographical difficulty. The older geographers, followed by many modern commentators, suppose the word to be an intentional variation of the word Sychem, by which the Jews expressed their contempt for the city of the Samaritans, the sound being very nearly that of the Hebrew words for "lie" and "drunken." Others suppose the change of termination is a natural dialectic variation. (Comp. Ben, the Hebrew for son, as in Benjamin, Genesis 35:18, which in the later language became Bar, as in Simon Bar-Jona, Matthew 16:17.) These explanations assume that Sychar is the same place as Shechem; but it is very improbable that St. John would have spoken of a city so well known as Shechem with the prefix "which is called," or would have thought it necessary to define it as "near to the parcel of ground. . . ." The only other places with the same prefix are Ephraim (John 11:54), the Pavement (John 19:13), and Golgotha (John 19:17), but in the latter instances, as in the mention of Thomas called Didymus (John 11:16; John 20:24), the words do not imply a soubriquet (comp. Farrar, Life of Christ, i. 206, note, and Grove in Smith's Dictionary of Bible, "Sychar"), but are a citation of the names in Hebrew and Greek, for the benefit of Greek readers. To assert that Sychar is meant to convey a double meaning is to imply that this would be understood by readers for whom it is necessary to translate Gabbatha and Golgotha, Thomas and Cephas (John 1:42), for whom Messias has been rendered in Greek in John 1:41, and is to be again in this very discourse (John 4:25). Shechem, moreover, was then known by the Greek name Neapolis, which has become the present Napl-s (see Ewald in loc., and comp. Jos. Wars, iv.), and this name would have been as natural in this Gospel as, e.g., Tiberias, which is found in it only (John 6:1; John 6:23; John 21:1). Nor can it be said that Shechem was near to Jacob's well, for admitting that the old city extended considerably "farther eastward than at present," it must still have been more than a mile distant. . . .

Verse 5. - He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, called Sychar (Συχάρ, with all the principal uncials; not Σιχάρ, as read by the Elzevir edition of Stephens, with one cursive, 69); not "the city" Shechem - the Συχέμ of Acts 7:16, or Σίκιμα of Josephus (Genesis 33:18; Joshua 20:7; Judges 9:7) - not Sebaste (Samaria), but "a city," one of the cities requiring special designation beyond its mere name, which would hardly have been necessary, if so renowned a spot as the metropolis of the ancient kingdom, or the ancient patriarchal city of Shechem or Sychem, had been thought cf. The similarity of the names Sychar and Sichem led many to suppose that John confounded either the names or the places. Those who were anxious to undervalue the accuracy of the author have attributed it to mistake. Schenkel still sees the error of a Gentile Christian. Others have supposed that the word meaning "town of drunkards" (Isaiah 28:1, שֵׁכָר), or "town of liars" Habakkuk 2:18, שֶׁקֶר), was intentionally applied by John to Shechem, or that some provincial pronunciation of the name of the old city had thus been commemorated. Hengstenberg suggested that Sychar was a suburb of Siehem or Shechem, and Robinson placed the latter much nearer to Jacob's welt than the present Nablous. Tholuck gave a philosophical solution - that m and r in the two words, being liquids, were interchanged; and Meyer at one time held that John simply applied the vulgar name. Jerome ('Quaest. Web. in Genesis 48.') said it was a corruption of the name Sichem. But Eusebius discriminated Shechem from Sychar in his 'Onomasticon,' sub voce; and a place called Sochar or Sichra is mentioned, and also its "well," in the Talmud. Delitzsch ('Zeitsehrift flit Luth. Theol.,' 1856) has quoted seven passages which refer to the place as the birthplace of rabbis, and as having been alternately occupied by Jews and Samaritans. Moreover, in late years, Palestine explorers have found, within half a mile of Jacob's well, a village, El 'Askar, preserving to the present day the old name. Nor has the name been in late years drawn from this narrative and given to this insignificant village, for a Samaritan chronicle, dating from the twelfth century, preserves the name as Iskar. A priori it is far more probable that a woman of Sychar, than one of Shechem, should have come to draw water, in consequence of the nearer proximity of the former "city" than of the latter to Jacob's well. It is further characterized as near to the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. In Genesis 33:19; Genesis 34:25; Genesis 48:22 (LXX.); Joshua 24:32, we see that Jacob's treaty with the sons of Humor, and the summary violence of his sons in punishment of Dinah's dishonour, were treated by him as giving him special possession in Shechem (the LXX., in Genesis 48:22, have translated the word for "portion," שְׁכֶם as Σίκιμα, erroneously supposing that the word was a proper name, instead of an allusive play on the word "Shechem"), and he solemnly bequeathed it to Joseph. In Joshua 24:32 we find the bones of Joseph were deposited there. (Knobel translates Genesis 48:22 as the portion which he, Jacob, (by his sons) would win (not had won) with sword and bow.) Geiger, 'Urschrift.,' p. 80 (referred to by Edersheim, i.e., 1:404), shows that St. John's interpretation of Genesis is perfectly in harmony with rabbinic tradition.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
So
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

He came
ἔρχεται (erchetai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2064: To come, go.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

a town
πόλιν (polin)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4172: A city, the inhabitants of a city. Probably from the same as polemos, or perhaps from polus; a town.

of Samaria
Σαμαρείας (Samareias)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4540: Of Hebrew origin; Samaria, a city and region of Palestine.

called
λεγομένην (legomenēn)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

Sychar,
Συχὰρ (Sychar)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4965: Sychar, a city of Samaria. Of Hebrew origin; Sychar, a place in Palestine.

near
πλησίον (plēsion)
Preposition
Strong's 4139: Near, nearby, a neighbor. Neuter of a derivative of pelas; close by; as noun, a neighbor, i.e. Fellow.

the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

plot of ground
χωρίου (chōriou)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 5564: A place, piece of land, field, property, estate. Diminutive of chora; a spot or plot of ground.

Jacob
Ἰακὼβ (Iakōb)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2384: Of Hebrew origin; Jacob, the progenitor of the Israelites.

had given
ἔδωκεν (edōken)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1325: To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.

to
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

his
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

son
υἱῷ (huiō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

Joseph.
Ἰωσὴφ (Iōsēph)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2501: Joseph, a proper name. Of Hebrew origin; Joseph, the name of seven Israelites.


Links
John 4:5 NIV
John 4:5 NLT
John 4:5 ESV
John 4:5 NASB
John 4:5 KJV

John 4:5 BibleApps.com
John 4:5 Biblia Paralela
John 4:5 Chinese Bible
John 4:5 French Bible
John 4:5 Catholic Bible

NT Gospels: John 4:5 So he came to a city (Jhn Jo Jn)
John 4:4
Top of Page
Top of Page