Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Preface
- Notes on referencing
- Part i The Evangelist, the gospel, the Word
- Part ii Interpretations and representations
- Chapter 4 Water into wine
- Chapter 5 Living water
- Chapter 6 Raising the dead
- Chapter 7 ‘Behold thy mother’
- Chapter 8 Touching the risen body
- Afterword
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Chapter 5 - Living water
The woman at the well
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Preface
- Notes on referencing
- Part i The Evangelist, the gospel, the Word
- Part ii Interpretations and representations
- Chapter 4 Water into wine
- Chapter 5 Living water
- Chapter 6 Raising the dead
- Chapter 7 ‘Behold thy mother’
- Chapter 8 Touching the risen body
- Afterword
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
(John 4.10)Fact or allegory?
In the second chapter of John's gospel, the story of the marriage at Cana is told in eleven verses and Jesus’ purging of the temple in ten. Chapter 3 has little narrative content, being devoted to the dialogues between Nicodemus and Jesus, and between John the Baptist and his disciples. In chapter 4, the Samaritan woman's encounters with Jesus are described in a long narrative, taking up over forty verses. Down the centuries, biblical commentators have discerned many layers of typological and allegorical meaning in these verses, while artists have been inspired by their strong dramatic content. As Liddon said in a Lenten sermon on the story, ‘there is no scene in our Lord's earthly Life in which it is easier to bring Him vividly before our eyes’.
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- Information
- St John and the Victorians , pp. 111 - 138Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011