Jesus and the woman at the well

Identifier: jesusofnazarethh00abbo (find matches) Title: Jesus of Nazareth: His life and teachings; founded on the four Gospels, and illustrated by reference to the manners, customs, religious beliefs, and political institutions of His times Year: 1869 (1860s) Authors: Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922 Subjects: Jesus Christ Publisher: New York, Harper Contributing Library: New York Public Library Digitizing Sponsor: MSN View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: own what a post-office is to a New England village—a sort of social centre. These wells were often deep. Some-times a bucket and sweep were attached ; sometimes a flightof steps led down within the well, which was large, to thesurface of the Avater. The latter was the case in Jacobswell. While Jesus was sitting here, a woman came out from thecity to draw water. This was part of her domestic duties.The hour was unusual. But she was a woman of known evilcharacter. The divorce laws of Samaria were wofully lax.She had left one husband after another, and was now livingwith a paramour, without even the poor forms of Samaritanlaw to shield her from reproach. Perhaps she desired to es-cape the observation of the multitude that flocked to thewell at evening. Jesuss attempt to enter into conversation with her she atfirst repels. His simple request for water she scornfully re-fuses. How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,who am a woman of Samaria ? His offer of spiritual life un- Text Appearing After Image: THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. Dec, A.D.31.) CHRIST A CONVERSATIONALIST. 133 der the symbol of living water she meets with badinage.Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep;whence, then, hast thou that living water ? His reiteratedoffer,Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall givehim shall never thirst she repels with jeer. Give me thiswater, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.* Thenhe breaks in upon the conversation with a seeming irrelevantrequest: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. In vainshe denies that she has a husband. By a single sentence hediscloses his knowledge of her life. Thou hast had five hus-bands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband, andso extorts from her the confession, Thou art a prophet, andprepares the way for the announcement to her of his Messiah-ship. She essays to change the conversation from a tone toopersonal to be comfortable by bringing up the standing con-troversy between Jew and Samaritan as to place of worship;not t Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.