Merely a few verses removed from the story of Ishmael that is connected to a well, we find Abraham engaged in a well story. Apparently there was some controversy, in that “Abraham lodged a complaint against Abimelech,” a general title of a tribal chieftain, “concerning a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized” (21:25). Abraham offers a treaty to Abimelech, in the form of a gift of seven lambs, saying “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof that I dug this well” (21:30). So here we see a dispute concerning a well. With that in mind, it’s not at all surprising to find a disputation in connection to the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Though the dispute was not over the well, though there is an underlying dispute about true Israelite lineage implied, the well becomes the locus of the review of one of the main points of disputation between Israel and Samaria.
Without having to traverse too many pages of Scripture in search of our next watering hole, we reach the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis, which contains another “well” tale. In this story, Abraham is sending his servant to his home country and to his relatives to find a wife for Isaac, his son (24:4). When the servant reached his desired destination, “He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city” (24:11a). So that he might accomplish the task that was set before him, which would be indissolubly connected to the covenant that God had made with Abraham that his descendants would be named through Isaac, “He prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham. Here I am, standing by the spring, and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water. I will say to a young woman, “Please lower your jar that I may drink.” May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, “Drink, and I’ll give water to you camels too.” In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.’” (24:12-14) Effectively, the woman that provided a drink to the servant of Abraham, would be the one through whom God would continue to carry out His covenant plans.
It is not at all difficult to see this idea at play in the fourth chapter of John, as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman “Give me some water to drink” (4:7b). Of course, in the story of Abraham’s servant, his request is precisely met, thus a wife, Rebekah, is found for Isaac. When the servant reveals his identity to Rebekah, “the young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about these things” (24:28), much like the Samaritan woman runs off to tell the townspeople about her strange encounter at the well. Rebekah’s action, in turn, prompts her brother, Laban, to rush out to meet the man at the spring (24:29).
It can be said of Rebekah that she will be the vehicle to which God brings Jacob to birth, from whom will come God’s covenant people, the twelve tribes of Israel. In the same light, what do we see with the woman at the well with Jesus? Though we are left to guess at whether or not this woman provides Jesus with any water, such becomes a secondary issue once we see what takes place in the wake of her conversation with Jesus. We have just alluded to the fact that “the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely He can’t be the Messiah, can He?’ So they left the town and began coming to Him” (4:28-30). Obviously, here we see a major divergence in the stories, though the end result will be the same.
The action of Laban aside, we see that Abraham’s servant is taken to Abraham’s relatives, whereas the people to whom this woman speaks come out to meet Jesus. However, as said, the result is somewhat identical, in that God’s covenant purposes are advanced, and His kingdom is broadened out, “as many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the report of the woman who testified…So when the Samaritans came to Him, they began asking Him to stay with them” (4:39a,40a). Abraham’s servant experiences much the same, in that after securing the bride for Isaac, he stayed overnight (24:54). The next morning, upon indicating his intentions to return to Abraham, he was pressed to stay “a few more days, perhaps ten” (24:55b). The text, however, leads us to believe that he left that day. At the same time, it would not be unreasonable to presume that at least one more night was spent, in preparation for the journey home (for Abraham’s servant), and the journey from home (for Rebekah and her attendants/servants). Returning to John, Jesus, and that well, we learn that “He stayed there two days” (4:40b). There is a reiteration of this point a few verses later, as we read “After two days He departed from there to Galilee” (4:43).
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