John 4:5-6 5Then he came into a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; then Jesus, being tired from the journey, was sitting just beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
John now records narrative details about the setting. Jesus went to a Samaritan town named Sychar on purpose. Jesus’ intentionality is evident in each part of this story. As the divine Word, he knew just who needed him there. Sychar is likely the modern city of ‘Askar, which is located near Mount Eval. Jacob’s well is still there. John refers to an Old Testament story in Genesis 48:22 about when Jacob gave this plot of land to his son Joseph. After the Israelites conquered the land, they burried Joseph’s bones, which they brought up from Egypt, in that area. The traditional location of Joseph’s tomb is near Jacob’s well.
The well attributed to Jacob still has water in it. Water becomes an important metaphor in this chapter. The word for well (pēgē) is used for running water. Later, in verses 11 and 12, a different word is used for a cistern or well that has been dug (phrear). Both words describe the underground spring and the dug cistern that gets the fresh water from it.
Another note of this passage is how Jesus was tired from the travel. People walked for transportation. It was not a quick and easy trip from Judea to Galilee. Jacob’s well was a good stopping place for rest. John portrays a human Jesus in verse 6 who got tired like everyone else. He was not superman beyond the struggles of other people. When the Word became flesh (1:14), he really became like we are in all ways except he was in full obedience to the Father. Jesus set the perfect example of what we can strive for with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus got to the well at the heat of the day. The mention of the sixth hour will be significant as the story continues.
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