1‐4. *Jesus sets out from Judea to Galilee.*
5‐26. *Arrival in Sichar, and discourse with the Samaritan woman.*
27‐38. *Discourse with the disciples.*
39‐42. *Stay with the people of Sichar.*
43‐54. Continuation of the journey into Galilee, and healing of
the ruler’s son.
1. Ut ergo cognovit Iesus quia 1. When Jesus therefore
audierunt pharisaei quod Iesus understood that the Pharisees
plures discipulos facit, et had heard that Jesus maketh
baptizat, quam Ioannes, more disciples, and baptizeth
_more_ than John,
1. *When Jesus therefore understood*, &c. Christ is spoken of as if on
this occasion He gained knowledge of which He had been ignorant, because
though, as God, He knew all things, every inmost thought of the Pharisees,
yet, _as man_, like other men, He gathered knowledge from His fellow‐men.
See Mald.
*That Jesus.* Not that He Himself; because the report which the Pharisees
had heard is given verbatim, “that” (ὅτι) merely introducing it.
2. (Quamquam Iesus non 2. (Though Jesus _himself_ did
baptizaret sed discipuli not baptize, but his
eius,) disciples,)
2. Jesus Himself did not usually baptize; probably because, like St. Paul
(1 Cor. i. 14‐16), His mission was to preach and teach. It by no means
follows from this verse that He never baptized anyone; and many writers
are of opinion that He baptized some Himself.
3. Reliquit Iudaeam, et abiit 3. He left Judea, and went
iterum in Galilaeam; again into Galilee.
3. Because His time to suffer had not yet come, and much of the work of
His public mission still remained to be accomplished, He left Judea, the
headquarters of the Pharisees, whose jealousy He knew would be aroused by
the report mentioned in verse 1, and went again (see John i. 43) into
Galilee.
4. Oportebat autem eum 4. And he was of necessity to
transire per Samariam. pass through Samaria.
5. Venit ergo in civitatem 5. He cometh therefore to a
Samariae, quae dicitur Sichar: city of Samaria which is
iuxta praedium quod dedit called Sichar; near the land
Iacob Ioseph filio suo. which Jacob gave to his son
Joseph.
4, 5. Not choosing to cross to the east of the Jordan, and go up through
Peraea, as some of the stricter Jews did, who wished to avoid all possible
contact with the Samaritans, He was obliged to pass through Samaria. Of
the three provinces of Palestine west of the Jordan, Samaria was in the
centre, with Judea to the south, and Galilee to the north. “St. John is
thus careful to note that this was no mission to the Samaritans which the
Lord undertook. On the contrary, the law which He imposed on His
disciples: ‘And into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not’ (Matt. x.
5), this, during the days of His flesh, He imposed also on Himself. He was
not sent ‘but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matt. xv. 24;
Acts xiii. 46); and if any grace reached Samaritan or heathen, it was, so
to speak, but by accident, a crumb falling from the children’s table.”(38)
Samaria had been the portion of the tribe of Ephraim and of half the tribe
of Manasses. The province derived its name from its chief city, Samaria,
which, in turn, got its name from Mount Somer (or Semer), on which it was
built (3 Kings xvi. 24). See A Lap. The city called Sichar(39) (the modern
Nabulus) by St. John is the ancient Sichem, where Abram built an altar to
the Lord (Gen. xii. 7), under the turpentine tree behind which Jacob
buried the idols of his household (Gen. xxxv. 4), and where the bones of
the twelve patriarchs were laid to rest (Acts vii. 16).
*Near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph.* See Gen. xxxviii. 18,
19; Josue xxiv. 32.
6. Erat autem ibi fons Iacob, 6. Now Jacob’s well was there.
Iesus ergo fatigatus ex Jesus therefore being wearied
itinere, sedebat sic supra with his journey, sat thus on
fontem. Hora erat quasi sexta. the well. It was about the
sixth hour.
6. *Jacob’s well*, which he had dug or bought, was there; and Jesus, weary
because of His journey, sat _thus_ (_sic._, “hoc est, fatigatus ut erat,”
Beel.) by the well.
*It was about the sixth hour.* See on i. 39.
7. Venit mulier de Samaria 7. There cometh a woman of
haurire aquam. Dicit ei Iesus: Samaria to draw water. Jesus
Da mihi bibere. saith to her: Give me to
drink.
7. There cometh a woman of Samaria, not of the city of Samaria, for that
was six miles distant, but of the country of Samaria, a Samaritan woman,
to draw water.(40)
8. (Discipuli enim eius 8. For his disciples were gone
abierant in civitatem ut cibos into the city to buy meats.
emerent.)
8. Because He had no one else to give Him to drink, He asks her to do so,
and thus leads up naturally to the following discourse.
9. Dicit ergo ei mulier illa 9. Then that Samaritan woman
Samaritana: Quomodo tu Iudaeus saith to him: How dost thou,
cum sis, bibere a me poscis, being a Jew, ask of me to
quae sum mulier Samaritana? drink, who am a Samaritan
non enim coutuntur Iudaei woman? For the Jews do not
Samaritanis. communicate with the
Samaritans.
9. The Samaritans, with whom, as here stated, the Jews avoided all
intercourse, were either pure Assyrians or a mixture of Jews and
Assyrians, at best a mongrel race. Very probably some Jews were left
behind in Samaria at the time of the Assyrian captivity, under
Salmanassar, 721 B.C.; and from these intermarrying with the imported
Easterns sprang the Samaritans. The Jews regarded the Samaritans with
special aversion for many reasons. They were the descendants of the
Assyrian conquerors; they held what was the rightful inheritance of the
Jews; they corrupted Jewish worship; they endeavoured to prevent the
rebuilding of the Temple under Zorobabel (1 Esd. iv. 2, 7, 8), and were
always prepared to harbour the false friends or open enemies of the Jews.
Hence this woman, recognising in Christ’s dress and accent His Jewish
origin, wonders that He would speak to, much less drink from, a Samaritan.
The last clause: *For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans*, is
added by the Evangelist as an explanation of the woman’s question for
Gentile readers.
10. Respondit Iesus, et dixit 10. Jesus answered and said to
ei: Si scires donum Dei, et her: If thou didst know the
quis est qui dicit tibi, Da gift of God, and who he is
mihi bibere; tu forsitan that saith to thee, Give me to
petisses ab eo, et dedisset drink; thou perhaps wouldst
tibi aquam vivam. have asked of him, and he
would have given thee living
water.
10. *The gift of God* is not the Holy Ghost, nor Christ Himself, nor the
opportunity now offered her, but most probably the gift of grace, the
“living water” spoken of in the end of the verse. Hence Christ’s words
mean: If you knew that there is a spiritual water which slakes the thirst
of man in the desert of this world, and that He who can bestow it speaks
to you, *thou perhaps wouldst have asked*, &c. *Perhaps* (_forsitan_) is
not represented in the Greek, in which we have an ordinary conditional
sentence; and certainly Christ knew without doubt what would have been the
result. The Vulgate translator, probably added “forsitan” to indicate that
she would still be _free_ to reject the grace offered.
*Living water.* There is the same diversity of opinion here as in regard
to the “gift of God,” with the addition that some have held the reference
here to be to the waters of baptism. We take it that the reference again
is to grace. Living water properly signifies _running water_, in
opposition to the stagnant water of pools or cisterns. Here, however the
words seem to be used in their highest sense, of waters which come from
God and bestow _life_ upon all who drink of them.
11. Dicit ei mulier: Domine, 11. The woman saith to him:
neque in quo haurias habes, et Sir, thou hast nothing wherein
puteus altus est: unde ergo to draw, and the well is deep:
habes aquam vivam? from whence then hast thou
living water?
12. Numquid tu maior es patre 12. Art thou greater than our
nostro Iacob, qui dedit nobis father Jacob, who gave us the
puteum, et ipse ex eo bibit, well, and drank thereof
et filii eius, et pecora eius? himself, and his children, and
his cattle?
11, 12. She understands Him to speak of natural water, which He seemed to
think superior to that of Jacob’s well; and, concluding that He must refer
to the water of some other well, since indeed He had no bucket, no means
of drawing from the deep well at which she stood, she asks Him: Art Thou
greater than our father Jacob, so as to be able to provide a better water
than he provided for us in this well? That its waters were good enough for
him and his sons, is a proof of their excellence; that they sufficed for
all his household and cattle, is evidence of their abundance. There is a
tinge of resentment in the words of verse 12, for the Samaritans claimed
descent from Jacob (*our father, Jacob*), through Joseph and Joseph’s
sons, Ephraim and Manasses, whose tribal territory they possessed, and
this Jewish Stranger seemed to the woman to set Himself above the great
Patriarch of her race.
13. Respondit Iesus, et dixit 13. Jesus answered, and said
ei: Omnis qui bibit ex aqua to her: Whosoever drinketh of
hac, sitiet iterum: qui autem this water, shall thirst
biberit ex aqua quam ego dabo again: but he that shall drink
ei, non sitiet in aeternum: of the water that I will give
him, shall not thirst for
ever.
13. Without replying explicitly that He was indeed greater than Jacob,
Christ implies this by declaring that the water which He will give is
superior to that of Jacob’s well. For while the latter only satisfies
present wants, that which He will give will quench present and prevent
future thirst. What is said in Eccl. xxiv. 29: “They that drink Me shall
yet thirst,” is not opposed to our Lord’s words here; for in
Ecclesiasticus there is question of desire springing from love, here of a
craving arising from want. These words of our Lord show, then, that
sanctifying grace is of its own nature perennial in the soul. Time does
not wear it away; use does not consume it; unless it be expelled, it never
departs: “He that drinks ... shall not thirst for ever.”
14. Sed aqua, quam ego dabo 14. But the water that I will
ei, fiet in eo fons aquae give him, shall become in him
salientis in vitam aeternam. a fountain of water springing
up into life everlasting.
14. But so far from thirsting, he shall have that within him, that is, the
Holy Ghost and His graces, which will conduct him to eternal life. In this
beautiful metaphor, the spiritual water of grace is represented as finding
its own level; coming from heaven, it will return thither in those whom it
has saved. The mention of *eternal life* ought to have made it clear that
Christ spoke of supernatural and spiritual water.
15. Dicit ad eum mulier: 15. The woman saith to him:
Domine, da mihi hanc aquam, ut Sir, give me this water, that
non sitiam, neque veniam huc I may not thirst, nor come
haurire. hither to draw.
15. Yet she probably still understands of Him merely natural water, “Adhuc
carnalis est mulier” (Mald.): and anticipates only relief from having come
to Jacob’s well in future.
16. Dicit ei Iesus: Vade, voca 16. Jesus saith to her: Go,
virum tuum, et veni huc. call thy husband, and come
hither.
16. Christ, of course, knew she had no husband; but He knew also what
answer she would give, and He wished to get a natural opportunity of
disclosing to her the secrets of her wicked life, that He might manifest
His supernatural knowledge.
17. Respondit mulier, et 17. The woman answered, and
dixit: Non habeo virum. Dicit said: I have no husband. Jesus
ei Iesus: Bene dixisti, quia said to her: Thou hast said
non habeo virum: well, I have no husband:
18. Quinque enim viros 18. For thou hast had five
habuisti: et nunc quem habes, husbands: and he whom thou now
non est tuus vir: hoc vere hast, is not thy husband. This
dixisti. thou hast said truly.
17, 18. *Thou hast well said, I have no husband*, or rather, _husband_ I
have not, with an emphasis on husband, which is marked in the Greek by its
position in the sentence, as reproduced by Christ.
*Thou hast had five husbands.* Though St. Chrys. and Mald. think that
there is question, not of husbands, but of paramours, the common opinion,
and certainly the obvious one, is that husbands are spoken of. It is not
necessary to suppose that the husbands made room for one another by death,
for she may have been divorced by several of them. See Deut. xxiv. 1, 2;
Matt. xix. 3.
19. Dicit ei mulier: Domine, 19. The woman saith to him:
video quia propheta es tu. Sir, I perceive that thou art
a prophet.
19. *A prophet*; _i.e._, here, as elsewhere frequently, one who has
supernatural knowledge, who knows things which are naturally hidden from
him. In these words the poor woman confesses her own guilt and the exalted
character of Christ, whom, however, she does not yet recognise as “_The_
Prophet,” the Messias, but only as a prophet.
20. Patres nostri in monte hoc 20. Our fathers adored on this
adoraverunt, et vos dicitis, mountain, and you say that at
quia Ierosolymis est locus ubi Jerusalem is the place where
adorare oportet. men must adore.
20. Not so much for the purpose of turning the conversation from the
unpleasant subject of her own character,(41) as in order to have the
opinion of a prophet upon an important question, she adds: *Our fathers*,
&c.
She says that her Samaritan ancestors had worshipped on that mountain. She
evidently refers to public worship, public ceremonies appointed by God,
especially the worship of *sacrifice*; for the Jews never held that
private worship, as of prayer, should be restricted to Jerusalem. The
mountain to which she refers, and beneath the shadow of which Christ and
she were standing, is Mount Garizim, which overhangs the town of Sichar.
In the time of Alexander the Great, Manasses, a Jewish priest, was
excluded from the exercise of his ministry for marrying the daughter of
the king of Sichem. The king accordingly built for Manasses a temple on
Mount Garizim, where he offered sacrifice to the true God. This temple was
built about 330 B.C., and stood for two hundred years. After it was
destroyed, about 130 B.C., the Samaritans erected an altar upon Garizim,
and continued to offer sacrifice there; so that from the time of Manasses
the true God was worshipped, though imperfectly, among them. There still
remain a few families of Samaritans, under the shadow of Mount Garizim, in
the modern city of Nabulus, or Naplouse.
21. Dicit ei Iesus: Mulier 21. Jesus saith to her: Woman,
crede mihi, quia venit hora believe me, that the hour
quando neque in monte hoc, cometh, when you shall neither
neque Ierosolymis adorabitis on this mountain, nor in
Patrem. Jerusalem adore the Father.
21. Christ declares with all solemnity that the time is at hand—nay,
already come (see verse 23), when true worship _shall be restricted_
neither to Jerusalem nor to Garizim; and hence her question is practically
unimportant.
22. Vos adoratis quod 22. You adore that which you
nescitis: nos adoramus quod know not: we adore that which
scimus, quia salus ex Iudaeis we know; for salvation is of
est. the Jews.
22. *You adore that which* (ὅ) *you know not*. As the woman’s inquiry
regarded not the object, but the place of worship, some have understood
these words of our Lord in reference to the place, as if He said: You
adore in a place for worshipping in which you have no Divine sanction, we
in a place pointed out by the finger of God. But it is difficult to
reconcile this view with our Lord’s words: “You adore _that which_ you
know not.” Hence it is more probable, that in replying to her inquiry, He
takes occasion to refer to the imperfect knowledge of God, possessed by
Samaritans. The neuter (ὅ) seems to be used in the first instance, to show
the want of personality and definiteness in the Samaritan idea of God,(42)
and in the second instance merely for the sake of correspondence between
the two members of the sentence. *We adore.* That Christ numbers Himself
among those who adore, merely proves that He had a human nature.
23. Sed venit hora, et nunc 23. But the hour cometh, and
est, quando veri adoratores now is, when the true adorers
adorabunt Patrem in spiritu et shall adore the Father in
veritate. Nam et Pater tales spirit and in truth. For the
quaerit, qui adorent eum. Father also seeketh such to
adore him.
23. Still, though this is so, not even to Jerusalem, shall worship be
restricted in the future; *but the hour cometh*, &c.
What is the adoration *in spirit and in truth*, here foretold? Evidently
the worship of the new dispensation, as contrasted with that of the old;
this is plain from the whole context. What, then, is meant by saying that
the worship of the new dispensation is to be *in spirit and in truth*?
Various interpretations of the words have been given.
(1) “In spirit” is opposed to the worship of the Jews; “in truth” to that
of the Samaritans. Hence the worship of the new dispensation is to be,
_not merely external_, as was the Jewish (unless it was accompanied by
faith in the Redeemer to come, in which case it was not merely Jewish, but
Christian), nor _false_, as was the Samaritan. (Toletus.)
(2) “In spirit” is opposed to all merely external and local worship,
whether of _Jews_ or _Samaritans_; “in truth” to the _typical_ and
imperfect worship of the Jews. For the Jewish sacrifices and ceremonies
were only shadows and types of the realities in the New Law. “For the law
having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image (reality)
of the things: by the selfsame sacrifices which they offer continually
every year, can never make the comers thereunto perfect” (Heb. x. 1),
Mald., who favours next opinion also.
(3) “In spirit” and “in truth” are synonymous, and signify true
supernatural worship, springing from faith and grace, and hence opposed to
all imperfect or false worship. This opinion, considered equally probable
with the preceding by Maldonatus, and held by Beelen and Corluy, we
prefer; for in verse 24, the fact that God is a Spirit (it is not stated
that He is also Truth) is given as the reason why He should be worshipped
in _both_ spirit and truth.
The distinguishing features of true Christian worship, indicated in verses
21, 23, are that it is to be _universal_, not restricted, like the Jewish
or Samaritan, to Jerusalem or Garizim; and _spiritual_, offered with
hearts animated by faith and grace, and not consisting merely in external
rites.
24. Spiritus est Deus: et eos, 24. God is a Spirit, and they
qui adorant eum, in spiritu et that adore him, must adore him
veritate oportet adorare. in spirit and in truth.
24. In the end of verse 23 and in this verse Christ goes on to give the
reasons why this worship, which is primarily spiritual, is to exist in the
new and more perfect dispensation—(1). It is the Father’s will. (2) It is
meet that such should be the worship paid to Him who is Himself a Spirit.
It is hardly necessary to point out that Calvin’s interpretation of
adoration by faith alone cannot be admitted. Were that sufficient, the
devils themselves would be true adorers, for “the devils also believe and
tremble” (James ii. 19). Neither does Christ here imply that all
_external_ worship, external rites and ceremonies, were to cease, but only
that they were to cease to be _merely external_; else (1) His acts would
contradict His words, Luke xxii. 41; xxiv. 50; (2) His Apostles would
distinctly disobey Him: see Acts xvi. 25; ix. 40: Eph. iii. 14; (3) His
Church _in every age_ has misunderstood Him.
25. Dicit ei mulier: Scio quia 25. The woman saith to him: I
Messias venit (qui dicitur know that the Messias cometh
Christus): cum ergo venerit (who is called Christ),
ille, nobis annuntiabit omnia. therefore when he is come, he
will tell us all things.
25. The poor woman, apparently bewildered by what Christ had just said, is
satisfied to wait in confidence till Messias (here without the article,
used as a proper name) shall come, who, she believes, will make known all
that it is necessary to know regarding the place and character of the
worship of the true God. As the Samaritans admitted only the Pentateuch,
where the term Messias is not used (though His coming is foretold, Deut.
xviii. 18); as, moreover, she could not have gathered from the Pentateuch
the _time_ of His coming, she must have learned by rumour that the Jews
were _at this time_ expecting the Messias; her words, “He will tell _us_
all things,” showed that she hoped for His coming in her own day.
It is difficult to say whether the words explanatory of Messias, *who is
called Christ*, are the woman’s or our Evangelist’s. That the Evangelist
explained the term before (i. 41), is not a proof that he does not do so
again, for see John xi. 16; xx. 24; xxi. 2.
26. Dicit ei Iesus: Ego sum, 26. Jesus saith to her: I am
qui loquor tecum. he who am speaking with thee.
27. Et continuo venerunt 27. And immediately his
discipuli eius: et mirabantur, disciples came: and they
quia cum muliere loquebatur. wondered that he talked with
Nemo tamen dixit: Quid the woman. Yet no man said:
quaeris, aut quid loqueris cum What seekest thou, or why
ea? talkest thou with her?
26, 27. At length Christ reveals Himself; and now that He has excited her
interest and awakened her faith, the disciples return from Sichar, and are
astonished to find Him speaking publicly with a woman—a thing not usually
done by Jewish doctors.
28. Reliquit ergo hydriam suam 28. The woman therefore left
mulier, et abiit in civitatem, her waterpot, and went her way
et dicit illis hominibus: into the city, and saith to
the men there:
29. Venite, et videte hominem 29. Come, and see a man who
qui dixit mihi omnia has told me all things
quaecumque feci: numquid ipse whatsoever I have done. Is not
est Christus? he the Christ?
30. Exierunt ergo de civitate, 30. They went therefore out of
et veniebant ad eum. the city, and came unto him.
28‐30. The discourse being interrupted by the arrival of the disciples,
the woman, forgetful or indifferent regarding the errand which had brought
her to the well, *went her way into the city*, and soon returned with a
number of her fellow‐citizens.
31. Interea rogabant eum 31. In the meantime the
discipuli, dicentes: Rabbi, disciples prayed him, saying:
manduca. Rabbi, eat.
32. Ille autem dicit eis: Ego 32. But he said to them: I
cibum habeo manducare, quem have meat to eat which you
vos nescitis. know not.
33. Dicebant ergo discipuli ad 33. The disciples therefore
invicem: Numquid aliquis said one to another: Hath any
attulit ei manducare? man brought him to eat?
34. Dicit eis Iesus: Meus 34. Jesus saith to them: My
cibus est ut faciam voluntatem meat is to do the will of him
eius qui misit me, ut that sent me, that I may
perficiam opus eius. perfect his work.
31‐34. Meanwhile the disciples invite Jesus to eat, to whom He replies
that He has meat to eat which they know not, that meat being, as He
explains in verse 34, to do the will of Him that sent Him. It was no time
for attending to the wants of His human nature; He had more serious work
in hand in the conversion of the Samaritans.
35. Nonne vos dicitis quod 35. Do not you say, there are
adhuc quatuor menses sunt, et yet four months, and then the
messis venit? Ecce dico vobis: harvest cometh? Behold I say
Levate oculos vestros, et to you, lift up your eyes, and
videte regiones, quia albae see the countries, for they
sunt iam ad messem. are white already to harvest.
35. *There are yet four months, and then the harvest cometh.* Maldonatus,
followed by Father Coleridge, takes this to be a proverb(43) meaning that
there is no need of hurry—that the matter in question is still far off.
As, however, there is no evidence that such a proverb was current among
the Jews, it is much better to understand the verse thus: You say what is
true, that it is still four months till the harvest of nature; but lift up
your eyes, and behold the harvest of grace in the men of Sichar who are
approaching.
As the barley harvest in Palestine came in about the middle of April, this
time, four months earlier, was the middle of December, the end of the
first year of our Lord’s public life.(44)
36. Et qui metit, mercedem 36. And he that reapeth
accipit, et congregat fructum receiveth wages, and gathereth
in vitam aeternam: ut, et qui fruit unto life everlasting:
seminat, simul gaudeat, et qui that both he that soweth, and
metit. he that reapeth, may rejoice
together.
36. He encourages His disciples to the work; in saving others they save
themselves.
37. In hoc enim est verbum 37. For in this is the saying
verum: quia alius est qui true: that it is one man that
seminat, et alius est qui soweth, and it is another that
metit. reapeth.
38. Ego misi vos metere quod 38. I have sent you to reap
vos non laborastis: alii that in which you did not
laboraverunt, et vos in labour: others have laboured,
labores: eorum introistis. and you have entered into
their labours.
37‐38. The Prophets and Doctors of the old Law had prepared the way for
the Apostles and disciples of Christ; had ploughed and sown where they
were now to reap. *I have sent you.* Mald., who holds that this is not the
same journey with that referred to in Matt. iv. 12, Mark i. 14, and that
the Apostles were already formally called by Christ, understands “I have
sent” of an action already completed by Christ. As, however, it is more
probable that the Apostles were not yet formally called (see Matt. iv. 12,
18; x. 1), it is better to understand this, with A Lap., of the Divine
decree to send the Apostles on their mission afterwards.
39. Ex civitate autem illa 39. Now of that city many of
multi crediderunt in eum the Samaritans believed in
Samaritanorum, propter verbum him, for the word of the woman
mulieris testimonium giving testimony: He told me
perhibentis: Quia dixit mihi all things whatsoever I have
omnia quaecumque feci. done.
40. Cum venissent ergo ad 40. So when the Samaritans
illum Samaritani, rogaverunt were come to him, they desired
eum ut ibi maneret. Et mansit him that he would tarry there.
ibi duos dies. And he abode there two days.
41. Et multo plures 41. And many more believed in
crediderunt in eum propter him because of his own word.
sermonem eius.
39‐41. Many believed in Him on account of what the woman told them, and,
after He had remained two days in Sichar, many more on account of His
discourses.
42. Et mulieri dicebant: Quia 42. And they said to the
iam non propter tuam loquelam woman: we now believe, not for
credimus: ipsi enim audivimus, thy saying: for we ourselves
et scimus, quia hic est vere have heard him, and know that
Salvator mundi. this is indeed the Saviour of
the world.
42. This is the Hebrew way of expressing that it was not _so much_ on
account of the woman’s saying, as because they had heard Him themselves.
43. Post duos autem dies exiit 43. Now after two days he
inde: et abiit in Galilaeam. departed thence: and went into
Galilee.
44. Ipse enim Iesus 44. For Jesus himself gave
testimonium perhibuit, quia testimony that a prophet hath
propheta in sua patria honorem no honour in his own country.
non habet.
43‐44. The connection between these two verses is obscure. (1) Verse 44
gives the reason why He had _left Galilee_, to which He now returns; or
(2) the reason why He _passes Nazareth_, and goes on to Capharnaum (Matt.
iv. 13), Tolet, A Lap., Corl.; or (3) the reason why He proceeded on His
way from _Judea, His birthplace_, into Galilee, Mald., Patriz.
45. Cum ergo venisset in 45. And when he was come into
Galilaeam, exceperunt eum Galilee, the Galileans
Galilaei, cum omnia vidissent received him, having seen all
quae fecerat Ierosolymis in the things he had done at
die festo: et ipsi enim Jerusalem on the festival day:
venerant ad diem festum. for they also went to the
festival day.
45. He is well received by the Galileans, because the remembrance of His
exercise of authority and of His miracles, on the occasion of the previous
Pasch (ii. 15, 23), is still fresh in their memories.
46. Venit ergo iterum in Cana 46. He came again therefore
Galilaeae ubi fecit aquam into Cana of Galilee, where he
vinum. Et erat quidam regulus, made the water wine. And there
cuius filius infirmabatur was a certain ruler whose son
Capharnaum. was sick at Capharnaum.
47. Hic cum audisset quia 47. He having heard that Jesus
Iesus adveniret a Iudaea in was come from Judea into
Galilaeam, abiit ad eum, et Galilee, went to him, and
rogabat eum ut descenderet, et prayed him to come down and
sanaret filium eius: heal his son: for he was at
incipiebat enim mori. the point of death.
46. *A certain ruler whose son was sick at Capharnaum*, on hearing that
Jesus was in Cana, came and asked Him to _come down_ and heal his son, who
was on the point of death. Origen thinks this ruler may have belonged to
the household of Cæsar, and been on duty in Palestine at this time. But
Josephus uses the word (βασιλικός) to designate the courtiers or officers
of the Herods (see B. J. vii. 5, 2; Antt. xv. 8, 4); so that this ruler of
Capharnaum may have been an officer of Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of
Galilee. Doubtless the ruler had heard of the miracle at the marriage
feast in Cana (ii. 7, 11); and perhaps he had witnessed the evidence of
Christ’s miraculous power at the feast of the Pasch (ii. 23).
48. Dixit ergo Iesus ad eum: 48. Jesus therefore said to
Nisi signa et prodigia him: Unless you see signs and
videritis, non creditis. wonders, you believe not.
49. Dicit ad eum regulus: 49. The ruler saith to him:
Domine, descende prius quam Lord, come down before that my
moriatur filius meus. son die.
48. Christ upbraids the ruler for his imperfect faith. The ruler is blamed
either because he was waiting to _see_ a miracle before he would believe,
or because he foolishly considered that it was _necessary_ for Christ to
go down to Capharnaum in order to heal his son.
50. Dicit ei Iesus: Vade, 50. Jesus saith to him: Go thy
filius tuus vivit. Credidit way, thy son liveth. The man
homo sermoni quem dixit ei believed the word which Jesus
Iesus, et ibat. said to him, and went his way.
51. Iam autem eo descendente, 51. And as he was going down,
servi occurrerunt ei, et his servants met him: and they
nuntiaverunt dicentes, quia brought word, saying that his
filius eius viveret. son lived.
50. Jesus said to him, *Go thy way; thy son liveth*. It is plain, from all
the circumstances, that this miracle is quite distinct from that recorded
in Matt. viii. 5 and foll.; Luke vii. 2 and foll., though some of the
Rationalists have sought to identify the two. There it is the centurion’s
servant, here the ruler’s son, who is ill; there the illness is paralysis,
here fever; there, though asked not to go, Christ goes to the sick person;
here, though asked to go, he goes not.
52. Interrogabat ergo horam ab 52. He asked therefore of them
eis in qua melius habuerit. Et the hour, wherein he grew
dixerunt ei: Quia heri hora better. And they said to him:
septima reliquit eum febris. Yesterday at the seventh hour
the fever left him.
52. *The seventh hour;* _i.e._, about an hour after noon, 1 p.m., or 7
p.m. See i. 39.
53. Cognovit ergo pater, quia 53. The father therefore knew
illa hora erat, in qua dixit that it was at the same hour,
ei Iesus: Filius tuus vivit: that Jesus said to him, Thy
et credidit ipse, et domus son liveth; and himself
eius tota. believed and his whole house.
54. Hoc iterum secundum signum 54. This _is_ again the second
fecit Iesus, cum venisset a miracle that Jesus did, when
Iudaea in Galilaeam. he was come out of Judea into
Galilee.
54. It is not said that this was the second miracle He performed, but that
it was the second He performed on coming out of Judea into Galilee. For
the first, see ii. 6, 11, and compare i. 43.