John 4:16

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - John 4:16

Go call thy husband - We may admire the manner which our Saviour took to lead her to perceive that he was the Christ. His instructions she did not understand. He therefore proceeded to show her that he was acquainted with her life and with her sins. His object, here, was to lead her to consider her own state and sinfulness - a delicate and yet pungent way of making her see that she was a sinner. By showing her, also, that he knew her life, though a stranger to her, he convinced her that he was... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - John 4:16-18

John 4:16-18. Jesus saith, Go call thy husband What Christ had said to her concerning his grace and eternal life, he found had made little impression upon her, because she had not been convinced of sin; therefore, waiving the discourse about the living water, he sets himself to awaken her conscience, and proceeds to open the wounds of her depravity and guilt, that she might better understand, and more readily receive, the remedy provided by grace. The woman Conscious of the sinfulness... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - John 4:1-42

23. Jesus in Samaria (John 4:1-42)When the Pharisees saw the crowds following Jesus they took an increasing interest in him. No doubt they were becoming jealous and soon might become violent. Jesus therefore decided to leave Judea for Galilee (John 4:1-3).As Jesus approached one of the villages of Samaria, he began a conversation with a Samaritan woman whom he met at a well (John 4:4-9). The woman had a similar problem to Nicodemus in that she interpreted Jesus’ words literally instead of... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - John 4:16

husband . Greek. aner. App-123 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - John 4:16

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband and come hither.Go, call thy husband ... The reason for Jesus' rather abrupt injection of this command into the conversation may have been complex. The gift of eternal life is not a blessing that anyone receives ALONE; it is always for others also; and those others always include, first of all, those who are members of one's family. Also, the gift of eternal life is never bestowed apart from the correction of the moral condition of the recipient.... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 4:16

16. call thy husband—now proceeding to arouse her slumbering conscience by laying bare the guilty life she was leading, and by the minute details which that life furnished, not only bringing her sin vividly up before her, but preparing her to receive in His true character that wonderful Stranger to whom her whole life, in its minutest particulars, evidently lay open. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 4:1-26

1. The interview with the Samaritan woman 4:1-26There are several connections between this section and the preceding ones that provide continuity. One is the continuation of water as a symbol (cf. John 2:6; John 3:5; John 4:10-15). Another is the continuation of conversation in which Jesus reveals Himself as the fulfillment of what the Old Testament anticipated."Nicodemus was an eminent representative of orthodox Judaism. Now John records an interview Jesus had with one who stood for a class... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 4:1-42

D. Jesus’ ministry in Samaria 4:1-42The writer now showed Jesus moving north from Judea into Samaria where He had another important conversation with another person who was completely different from Nicodemus. As in the previous chapter, theological explanation follows personal encounter in this one. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 4:16

So far the woman thought only of her physical need for water and rest. Jesus now took the conversation in a different direction to help her realize that she had greater needs than these that He could meet (cf. John 2:24-25). Jesus’ instruction that she call her husband was proper because if He was really going to give her something valuable her husband should have been present. This was necessary to avoid misunderstanding about the reason for the gift and especially in view of Samaritan Jewish... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - John 4:1-54

The Samaritan Woman1-42. Christ in Samaria. The ministry in Samaria is recorded because it is the author’s design to exhibit Christ as the Saviour, not only of Israel, but of the world (John 4:42).The Samaritans were mainly an alien race, descended from the colonists planted in the land by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:6, 2 Kings 17:24, 2 Kings 17:26, 2 Kings 17:29; Ezra 4:1, Ezra 4:9-10). They boasted, however, of being Israelites, and with some degree of justification, for there was probably a... read more

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