The Theologically Savvy Samaritan Woman

The Samaritan woman is generally seen as a loose woman who has had her share of sleeping partners culminating in five husbands and one soon to be. But it appears that there is more to the story. Jo Ann Davidson observes the following:

The negative castigations of the Samaritan woman have not been informed by this woman’s political savvy. She was not culturally naive. For example, the conversation between the woman and Jesus opens with evidence that she is well aware of the political situation between the Samaritans and the Jews (v. 9). She seems to teasingly wonder about the “ignorancen of these matters on the part of the Jewish gentleman at the well when she responds to Jesus’ request for a drink of water: “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?’ (for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans).”‘* Furthermore, as the conversation progresses, the Samaritan woman’s respect for the mysterious stranger deepens. She begins to call him “sir,” and then wonders if he might be a prophet. Her questions and comments consistently reveal her profound understanding of both Samaritan and Jewish theology. The conversation in the narrative clearly reveals that she is not “unschooled” in contemporary political or theological matters, and, in fact, she discusses the two categories: “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and you say, that in Jerusalem is the place where man ought to worship” (w. 19-20). What the narrative details of John 4 seem to portray is an intelligent woman with a keen mind, who has pondered the theological and political realities of her day and culture. Furthermore, the progression in the dialogue reveals Jesus’ desire to bring this woman to faith. The narrative implies that he did so with the assurance that her mind could grasp theological verities. Jesus did not regularly speak this directly regarding himself in Israel or even to his disciples.

One feature this lengthy quote confirms is that this woman seems to be a victim of an overbearing patriarchal culture. Jesus understood her past and betrothed the least of these in her own own culture.