John 4:18
in John 4In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: this hast thou said truly.
KJV
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
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This verse in John 4
Commentary
22 notes on this verse(tom. xiii. c. 8) And what more proper place than Jacob's well, for exposing the unlawful husband, i. e. the perverse law? For the Samaritan woman is meant to figure to us a soul, that has subjected itself to a hind of law of its own, not the divine law. And our Saviour wishes to marry her to a lawful husband, i. e. Himself; the Word of truth which was to rise from the dead, and never again to die.
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
you have had five husbands
Readers weigh the five husbands differently. Adam Clarke notes that the law put an adulteress to death and divorce came easily, so the woman may have had five husbands lawfully, and John Gill allows she buried each husband in turn. Origen reads the man she now has as a false law the soul lives under, and Jesus as the true husband who would take her.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
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. But why are they called husbands? Because they are lawful and right: made indeed by God, and are the gifts of God to the soul. The soul is still weak while ruled by these five husbands, and living under these five husbands; but when she comes to years of exercising reason, if she is taken in hand by the noble discipline and teaching of wisdom, these five men are succeeded in their rule by no other than the true and lawful husband, and one better than they, who both rules better and rules for eternity, who cultivates and instructs her for eternity. For the five senses rule us, not for eternity, but for those temporal things that are to be sought or shunned. […]
This husband had not yet succeeded to those five husbands in that woman. And where he does not succeed, error sways. For when the soul has begun to be capable of reason, it is ruled either by the wise mind or by error: but yet error does not rule but destroys. Wherefore, after these five senses was that woman still wandering, and error was tossing her to and fro. And this error was not a lawful husband, but a paramour: for that reason the Lord saith to her, "Thou hast well said, I have not a husband. For thou hast had five husbands." The five senses of the flesh ruled thee at first; thou art come to the age of using reason, and yet thou art not come to wisdom, but art fallen into error. Therefore, after those five husbands, "this whom thou now hast is not thy husband." And if not a husband, what was he but a paramour? And so, "Call," not the paramour, but "thy husband," that thou mayest receive me with the understanding, and not by error have some false notion of me. For the woman was still in error, as she was thinking of that water; whilst the Lord was now speaking of the Holy Ghost. Why was she erring, but because she had a paramour, not a husband? Put away, therefore, that paramour who corrupts thee, and "go, call thy husband." Call, and come that thou mayest understand me.
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.
14 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers3 voices
(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.
"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
Now the Lord, through prophetic knowledge, reveals His power, enumerates her former husbands, and exposes the one whom she is now concealing. Some understand the "five" husbands of the Samaritan woman to mean the five books which alone the Samaritan woman accepted. "The one," He …
Then the Evangelist reports that Jesus said to her: You are right in saying you have no husband, a legitimate husband; for you have had five, before this one, and the man you are living with now, using as a husband, is not your husband. …
"For you have had five husbands," behold, he reveals things past, "and the one whom you now have is not your husband: this one," that is, "this one:" it is an antiptosis. He reveals things present, and so that she may not be indignant, he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For thou hast had five husbands,.... Which she either had had lawfully, and had buried one after another; and which was no crime, and might be: the Sadducees propose a case to Christ, in which a woman is said to have had seven husbands successively, in a lawful manner, Mat 22:
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 (
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The Nineteenth Century5 voices
Thou hast had five husbands - It is not clear that this woman was a prostitute: she might have been legally married to those five, and might have been divorced through some misbehavior of her own, not amounting to adultery; for the adulteress was to be put to death, both by the Jewish and Samaritan law, not divorced: or she might have been cast off through some caprice of her husband; for, in the time of our Lord, divorces were very common among the Jews, so that a man put away his wife for any fault.
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.
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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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hast had five husbands - Who have either died; or who, on account of your improper conduct, have divorced you; or whom you have left improperly, without legal divorce. Either of these might have be. en the case. Is not thy husband - You are not lawfully married to him. Either she might have left a former husband without divorce, and thus her marriage with this man was unlawful, or she was living with him without the form of marriage, in open guilt.
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πέντε | pente | Five | G4002 → | 38 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ἄνδρας | andras | husbands | G435 → | 216 times |
| ἔσχες, | esches | you have had, | G2192 → | 707 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| νῦν | nun | now | G3568 → | 145 times |
| ὃν | hon | he whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἔχεις | echeis | you have | G2192 → | 707 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἔστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| σου | sou | your | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἀνήρ· | aner | husband; | G435 → | 216 times |
| τοῦτο | touto | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ἀληθὲς | alethes | truly | G227 → | 26 times |
| εἴρηκας.¶ | eirekas | you have spoken. | G2046 → | 47 times |
πέντεFive
penteG4002 →38 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ἄνδραςhusbands
andrasG435 →216 times
ἔσχες,you have had,
eschesG2192 →707 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
νῦνnow
nunG3568 →145 times
ὃνhe whom
honG3739 →1405 times
ἔχειςyou have
echeisG2192 →707 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἔστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
σουyour
souG4771 →2973 times
ἀνήρ·husband;
anerG435 →216 times
τοῦτοthis
toutoG3778 →1381 times
ἀληθὲςtruly
alethesG227 →26 times
εἴρηκας.¶you have spoken.
eirekasG2046 →47 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 7:3So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not…
it leads to
- Exodus 20:14
You shall not commit adultery.
- Matthew 5:32
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
- Mark 10:6–12
However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
- Exodus 20:14
Through
Mark 10:12And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 7:11
But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
- 1 Corinthians 7:13
And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
- 1 Corinthians 7:11
Through
Jeremiah 3:20But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:8
You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth.
- Isaiah 48:8
Through
Ruth 4:10Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:6
The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
- Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Deuteronomy 25:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
About John
This page draws on 16 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; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; 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.