"What do we? for this man doth many "miracles. If we let him thus alone,” (after this manner doing many miracles,) "all men "will believe on him." So ch. viii. 59,

Then took they up ftones to caft at him : "but Jefus hid himself, and went out of "the temple, going through the midst of "them, and fo paffed by "-paffed by, by hiding himself after this manner.

After this latter manner it is to be underftood, I fhould think, here-Jefus being wearied with his journey, fat down like a weary perfon by the fide of the well, and in that attitude the woman found him, preparing, it fhould feem, to take fome repofe and fome repaft. The difciples, it is faid, ver. 8, were

gone away unto the city to buy meat;' but it doth not at all follow from thence that they all went, nor is it fo probable that they did, leaving him alone; but that, on the contrary, fome of them ftayed with him, making such preparations as indicated a defign in them to eat bread there.

I think I have elfewhere fhown, from the reports of thofe that have vifited these countries, that it is usual for them to stop to take their repafts in their journeying near water, and under the shade of trees, rocks, or fomething that may afford them shelter from the injuries of the air. Our Lord with his difciples feem to have had the fame intention, and applied to this woman for water, of which, in thofe circumftances, fhe

muft

must have been fenfible they ftood in great need; and had our Lord offered to purchase it, it doth not appear that, he would have been furprised, for water was frequently proposed to be purchased in those hot countries anciently; and it appears, from ver. 8, there was nothing extraordinary in the dealing of the Jews with the Samaritans, as to buying and felling: what astonished her was our Lord's afking for water as a favour.

It was indeed no more than had often been afked by, and granted to, ftrangers: what one, in particular, had done aforetime, who dwelt in the land of Canaan, and afked the favour of a Syrian damfel to give him and his attendants drink, Gen. xxiv. 14 and 18, where there was no expreffing furprise at it on either fide. Nothing more than what has been done to ftrangers by the women of those countries in later times 2. But there were no fuch friendly

Numb. 20. 19.

2 So Haynes tells us, that arriving at Nazareth, the latter end of December, about five in the evening, p. 133, 134, upon entering "the town, we faw two women fill

ing their pitchers with water, at the fountain I have "already defcribed, and about twelve others waiting for "the fame purpofe; whom we defired to pour fome into "a trough which ftood hard by, that our horfes might "drink. We had fcarce made the requeft, before they "inftantly complied, and filled the trough, and the others "waited with the greateft patience." Upon returning their thanks, "one of them with very great modefty re"plied," We confider kindness and hofpitality to ftran"gers, as an effential part of our duty.'

3

"P. 144.

dealings,

dealings, in common, between the Jews and the Samaritans.

Their dealing with each other, as to buying and felling, unless where peculiar bigotry and ill-nature prevailed', will show that the Jews might, in a peaceful state of things, without being much incommoded, pass through Samaria in their way to or from the Temple, in which country, though not a very broad one, they must have had continual occafion to take their repafts, and to lodge alfo, in their paffing through it, especially if they did not travel with greater expedition, in that part of their journey, than Jofeph and Mary are fuppofed to have done, in the first part of their return from Jerufalem to Galilee, Luke ii. 442.

Wolfius has remarked, very juftly, and I think fome others', that the Greek word E doth not neceffarily fignify on-that our Lord fat on the building belonging to the well: either a circular low wall about it, like thofe

Luke 9. 52, 53.

They went, the Evangelift tells us, a day's journey, before they fought the child fefus, who they fuppofed was in the company with fome of their relations or acquaintance: now M. Maundrell affures us, that according to tradition, it was at Beer that they fought him, and that a church was built there, in memory of this circumftance, by the devout emprefs Helena, p. 64; but Beer, according to Maundrell, was only 3 hours from Jerusalem, p. 66, or about ten miles a day's journey then, in thofe circumftances, was only ten miles, but Samaria, though a narrow country, was much broader than that.

3 Wolfius on the place.

ufed

used in country towns among us, as painters and carvers feem to have understood it; or on a more magnificent erection over fo celebrated a well, as that of which the patriarch Jacob and his family had been wont to drink. It has been used for fitting not on but near a river, and fo, according to modern Eaftern usages, it is most natural to understand it here, of fitting in a commodious place near that well.

Whether the difciples had cords and a small leather bucket with them to draw with, which the Samaritanefs did not remark; or whether the difciples were to procure proper implements in the city, which they were afterwards to return, or at leaft leave at the well for the use of it's owner, who would foon have occafion to go thither'; or whether they trufted to a favourable accident, as travelling people were very frequently coming to fo celebrated a well; doth not appear. None of the conjectures are highly improbable.

The time indeed when they wanted this affiftance was not the ufual hour of drawing water by the inhabitants, though a common time for travellers to ftop and take their repaft. But it is to be remembered, when

Thus Dr. Chandler, fomewhere in his Travels in the Lefer Afia, fpeaks of a goat's skin with the hair on made ufe of as a bucket, which was diftended by a piece of wood, to which the rope was fixed, and which was left at a well by a benevolent peafant, (who had before drawn water for them from thence,) for their ufe while he was abfent.

we

we find an inhabitant coming for water, that it was winter-time', and confequently we may believe water might then be drawn at any time—at noon, as well as in the morning or evening, though these earlier and later feafons feem to have been thofe that were mostly made use of even in winter. Thus when Haynes travelled from Cana to Nazareth, in the depth of winter, for it was about the end of December, he found many women affembled at a fountain, to draw water, at five in the afternoon, p. 144 compared with p. 131 and 134.

The coming then of the woman of Samaria to draw water, juft at noon, doth not look as though our Lord was fatigued with the heat, as well as the length of the way, as fome have conjectured. The air in those countries, it is acknowledged, is frequently confiderably warm in the middle of the day, in the depth of winter; but had it been fo then, the woman would hardly have gone to the well at noon for water: fhe would, most probably, have ftayed 'till the usual timethe evening, or fetched it in the morning.

That travellers frequently stop at noon, in order to take fome refreshment, is evident from a remark made by Plaistead in giving an account of his traversing the mighty defert between Bufferah and Aleppo, he tells us, p. 81, that the caravan with which he travelled

'See ver. 35, of this 4th of John.

VOL. III.

S

did