John 4:17
in John 4“I have no husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The woman answered and said unto him, I have no husband. Jesus saith unto her, Thou saidst well, I have no husband:
KJV
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
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This verse in John 4
Commentary
19 notes on this verseTo whom is it not now evident that the Saviour was not ignorant that she was bereft of any rightful husband and that He made the enquiry about her husband who was not, a plea for making known hidden things? For He was, He was thus with difficulty able to help her no longer marvelling at Him as one of us, but as now above man, by reason of His wondrous knowledge of her circumstances.
This site's exposition
Go, call your husband and come back
on John 4:16-18
The command reaches the one subject she had kept back, and her short answer is true as far as it goes. Jesus fills in the rest, five husbands and a sixth man she lives with now. He calls her words truthful and leaves the charge there.
This site's exposition
I have no husband
Albert Barnes takes her short answer as an attempt to leave the subject, and suggests she feared the truth would come out. Cyril of Alexandria says Jesus knew her state all along and asked about her husband to show His knowledge of hidden things.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
And, the husband being not yet called, still she does not understand, still she minds the flesh; for the man is absent: "I have not," saith she, "a husband." And the Lord proceeds and utters mysteries. Thou mayest understand that woman really to have had at that time no husband; she was living with some man, not a lawful husband, rather a paramour than a husband. And the Lord said to her, "Thou hast well said, I have not a husband." How then didst Thou say, "Call thy husband"? Now hear how the Lord knew well that she had not a husband "He says to her," etc. In case the woman might suppose that the Lord had said, "Thou hast well said, I have not a husband," just because He had learned this fact of her, and not because he knew it by His own divinity, hear something which thou hast not said: "For thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; this thou hast said truly." Once more He urges us to investigate the matter somewhat more exactly concerning these five husbands. Many have in fact understood, not indeed absurdly, nor so far improbably, the five husbands of this woman to mean the five books of Moses. For the Samaritans made use of these books, and were under the same law: for it was from it they had circumcision. But since we are hemmed in by what follows, "And he whom thou now hast is not thy husband," it appears to me that we can more easily take the five senses of the body to be the five former husbands of the soul. For when one is born, before he can make use of the mind and reason, he is ruled only by the senses of the flesh. In a little child, the soul seeks for or shuns what is heard, and seen, and smells, and tastes, and is perceived by the touch. It seeks for whatever soothes, and shuns whatever offends, those five senses. At first, the soul lives according to these five senses, as five husbands; because it is ruled by them. […]
A commentator
Romanos the MelodistKONTAKION ON THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA 9.11-12, 14 · Written before 555.
proposed
[Jesus says] "If you wish that I give you the streams of pure water, Go, and call your husband; I shall not imitate your reproach; I shall not say: 'You are a woman of Samaria, and how is it that you ask for water?' I …
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2 · Written before 444.
proposed
To whom is it not now evident that the Saviour was not ignorant that she was bereft of any rightful husband and that He made the enquiry about her husband who was not, a plea for making known hidden things? For He was thus with difficulty able to help her no longer marvelling at Him as one of us, but as now above man, by reason of His wondrous knowledge of her circumstances. And profitably does He approve her saying she has no husband, although she had had so many; for not the coming together out of pleasure, but the approval of the law and bond of pure love make marriage blameless.
(Hom. xxxii. 2) But she was in a hurry to receive the gift, and wished to conceal her guilt, (for she still imagined she was speaking to a man:) The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Christ answers her with a seasonable reproof; exposing her as to former husbands, and as to her present one, whom she had concealed; Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband.
O how great the wisdom of the woman! how meekly doth she receive the reproof! "How should she not," saith some one? Tell me, why should she? Did He not often reprove the Jews also, and with greater reproofs than these? (for it is not the same to bring forward the hidden thoughts of the heart, as to make manifest a thing that was done in secret; the first are known to God alone, and none other knoweth them but he who hath them in his heart; the second, all who were sharers in it know;) but still when reproved did not bear it patiently. When He said, "Why seek ye to kill me?" (c. vii. 19), they not only did not admire as the woman did but even mocked at and insulted Him; yet they had a demonstration from other miracles, she had only heard this speech. Still they not only did not admire, but even insulted Him, saying, "Thou hast a demon, who seeketh to kill thee?" While she not only doth not insult but admires, and is astonished at Him, and supposes Him to be a Prophet. Yet truly this rebuke touched the woman more than the other touched them; for her fault was hers alone, theirs was a general one; and we are not so much stung by what is general as by what is particular.
11 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And what kind of connection," saith some one, "is there in the saying, `Go, call thy husband'?" The discourse was concerning a gift and grace surpassing mortal nature: the woman was urgent in seeking to receive it. Christ saith, "Call thy husband," showing that he also must share in these things; but she, eager to receive (the gift), and concealing the shamefulness of the circumstances, and supposing that she was conversing with a man, said, "I have no husband." Christ having heard this, now seasonably introduces His reproof, mentioning accurately both points; for He enumerated all her former husbands, and reproved her for him whom she now would hide.
The Medieval Church3 voices
Here (v 17), the woman is found guilty by Christ. First, her answer is set down. Secondly, the encounter in which she is found guilty by Christ. As to the first, we should note that the woman, desiring to hide her wrongdoing, and regarding Christ …
She, in order to more quickly conceal and at the same time obtain, says: "I have no husband." Now the Lord, through prophetic knowledge, reveals His power, enumerates her former husbands, and exposes the one whom she is now concealing.
"The woman answered and said: I have no husband." From this truthful response, the Lord, having taken the occasion, adds the revelation of the secret. Whence there also follows: "Jesus says to her: You have spoken well: I have no husband," because she confessed the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And this is the method of dealing with souls; they must first be made weary and heavy-laden under the burden of sin, and then brought to Christ for rest; first pricked to the heart, and then healed. This is the course of spiritual physic; and if we proceed not in this order we begin at the wrong end. Observe, (1.) How discreetly and decently Christ introduces this discourse (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The woman answered and said, I have no husband,.... Which was a truth she would not have spoke at another time and place, or to any of her neighbours; but Christ being a stranger, and no odium incurring upon her by it; and this serving a purpose to excuse her going to call him, she declares the truth of the matter: Jesus said unto her, thou hast well said, I have no husband; this is the truth, it is really fact, and is the true state of the case, between thee and him, who goes for thy husband.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I have no husband - This was said, evidently, to evade the subject. Perhaps she feared that if she came there with the man that she lived with, the truth might be exposed. It is not improbable that by this time she began to suspect that Jesus was a prophet. Hast well said - Hast said the truth.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
give me this water, &c.--This is not obtuseness--that is giving way--it expresses a wondering desire after she scarce knew what from this mysterious Stranger.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
Conversation With a Samaritan Woman But he had to pass through Samaria. Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me some water to drink." (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.)
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
Conversation With a Samaritan Woman But he had to pass through Samaria. Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me some water to drink." (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.) So the Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you—a Jew—ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said to him, "you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water? Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock." Jesus replied, "Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." He said to her, "Go call your husband and come back here." The woman replied, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands and the man you are living with now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet.
Modern Voices1 voice
In John 4, Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman is itself a Purim-style reversal the rejected becomes chosen, the overlooked becomes entrusted, and the outsider becomes the first to hear a clear declaration of Messiah.
The words behind it
19 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀπεκρίθη | apekrithe | Answered | G611 → | 231 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γυνὴ | gune | woman | G1135 → | 211 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτῷ· | auto | to Him: | G846 → | 5565 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | Not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἔχω | echo | I have | G2192 → | 707 times |
| ἄνδρα.¶ | andra | a husband. | G435 → | 216 times |
| Λέγει | legei | Says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτῇ | autea | to her | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦς· | iesous | Jesus; | G2424 → | 908 times |
| καλῶς | kalos | Correctly | G2573 → | 35 times |
| εἶπας | eipas | you have spoken | G2036 → | 925 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ἄνδρα | andra | A husband | G435 → | 216 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἔχω· | echo | I have; | G2192 → | 707 times |
ἀπεκρίθηAnswered
apekritheG611 →231 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
γυνὴwoman
guneG1135 →211 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εἶπενsaid
eipenG2036 →925 times
αὐτῷ·to Him:
autoG846 →5565 times
οὐκNot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἔχωI have
echoG2192 →707 times
ἄνδρα.¶a husband.
andraG435 →216 times
ΛέγειSays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
αὐτῇto her
auteaG846 →5565 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
Ἰησοῦς·Jesus;
iesousG2424 →908 times
καλῶςCorrectly
kalosG2573 →35 times
εἶπαςyou have spoken
eipasG2036 →925 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ἄνδραA husband
andraG435 →216 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἔχω·I have;
echoG2192 →707 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
About John
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 15; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 4; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jane Hamon, PURIM – A TIME FOR REVERSALS!!; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 32; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Romanos the Melodist, KONTAKION ON THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA 9.11-12, 14; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.