This woman deftly shifts the conversation from her personal life to a long-standing religious dispute, using "our fathers" to invoke tradition and legitimacy for the Samaritan worship site on Mount Gerizim. She frames the question not just as a matter of differing opinions, but as a divine obligation ("ought to worship") that Jesus, as a prophet, must settle.
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus has just revealed He knows about her multiple marriages, cutting through her attempts to deflect. In response, the woman quickly shifts the conversation from her personal life to a long-standing religious dispute, pointing to Mount Gerizim as the Samaritan place of worship while acknowledging the Jewish claim to Jerusalem. This ancient conflict over the proper place to worship God is her attempt to regain control and perhaps test Jesus' prophetic authority on a matter deeply important to her identity.
The woman at the well deflects Jesus' probing questions with a time-worn religious debate. What does this tell us about how we handle uncomfortable truths?
When Jesus’ words began to pierce the woman's defenses, she didn't try to justify her lifestyle. Instead, she quickly shifted the conversation to a long-standing religious dispute between Jews and Samaritans: the proper place of worship.
Jesus doesn't just answer the woman's question about location; He reveals a radical new understanding of worship that transcends physical places.
The woman’s question, while strategic, touches on a real point of contention. For centuries, the location of worship – Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem – was a major issue.
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Jesus, however, redefines worship entirely. He explains that the time is coming, and is now, when worship will no longer be tied to a specific mountain or city.
Understand the original words
proskyneō · Greek Verb
The act of showing reverence, honor, and adoration to God; it involves the whole-hearted submission of the believer to the Creator, acknowledging His worthiness.
oros · Greek Noun
The elevated geographical site or specific location designated for religious sacrifice and communion with God; in this context, it refers to Mount Gerizim.
Hierosolyma · Greek Noun
The holy city of Israel, central to the Old Testament economy as the location of the Temple and the chosen dwelling place of God’s name.
gynai · Greek Noun
In a biblical context, this is a respectful but direct address used to signify a serious conversation, often used by Jesus when delivering significant theological or revelatory truths.
hōra · Greek Noun
A pivotal theological term referring to the divinely appointed time for the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan, particularly centered on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
proskyneō · Greek Verb
The act of showing reverence, adoration, and submission to God; it involves the total posture of the heart and life toward the Creator.
patēr · Greek Noun
The fundamental relationship between the Creator and the believer, emphasizing God's role as the provider of life and the recipient of filial reverence and obedience.
This verse highlights a deep, centuries-old religious dispute between Jews and Samaritans, rooted in differing traditions and the destruction of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, which fueled the Samaritan claim to worship on their mountain versus the Jewish claim to Jerusalem.
c. 1400 BC
Jacob's Altar on Mount Gerizim
According to tradition, Jacob offered sacrifices and built an altar on Mount Gerizim, establishing it as a place of worship for his descendants. This event forms a key part of the Samaritan claim to the mountain's sanctity.
c. 410 BC
Temple Built on Mount Gerizim
Sanballat, a Persian governor, built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, likely with the help of Manasseh, a Jewish priest expelled from Jerusalem. This marked a significant religious and political split between Jews and Samaritans.
129 BC
Destruction of Gerizim Temple
John Hyrcanus, a Jewish leader, destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. Despite this, the Samaritans continued to consider Gerizim a holy site and conduct worship there.
Early 1st century AD— this verse
Jesus Encounters the Samaritan Woman
Jesus, traveling through Samaria, meets a woman at Jacob's Well near Sychar. Their conversation touches upon the long-standing religious dispute between Jews and Samaritans regarding the proper place of worship.
This passage lays the foundation for the Jewish belief that God would choose a specific place for His name to dwell, which the woman references as Jerusalem.
Genesis 12:6-7This shows an early instance of patriarchal worship in the region of Shechem (near Mount Gerizim), supporting the Samaritan woman's claim about 'our fathers'.
John 4:23-24Jesus directly answers the woman's question by shifting the focus from a physical location to the nature of true worship, which is in spirit and truth.
Malachi 1:11This prophetic passage speaks of worship that is pure and acceptable to God in 'every place,' foreshadowing Jesus' point about worship not being confined to a single mountain or city.
ellicottJohn 4:20: "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
(20) Our fathers worshipped. —She gives a sudden turn to the conversation. It is not that the question of worship is the all-engrossing problem of her mind, for which she seeks solution at this prophet’s hands. Such questions hardly came then within the circle of a Samaritan woman’s thoughts, and this woman’s life had not been such as to make her an exception to the rule;…
vincentJohn 4:20: "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
Our fathersProbably meaning the ancestors of the Samaritans, as far back as the building of the temple on Mount Gerizim in the time of Nehemiah. This temple had been destroyed by John Hyrcanus, 129 b.c., but the place remained holy, and to this day the Samaritans yearly celebrate there the feast of the Passover. See the graphic description of Dean Stanley, who was present…
This woman deftly shifts the conversation from her personal life to a long-standing religious dispute, using "our fathers" to invoke tradition and legitimacy for the Samaritan worship site on Mount Gerizim. She frames the question not just as a matter of differing opinions, but as a divine obligation ("ought to worship") that Jesus, as a prophet, must settle.
Jesus has just revealed He knows about her multiple marriages, cutting through her attempts to deflect. In response, the woman quickly shifts the conversation from her personal life to a long-standing religious dispute, pointing to Mount Gerizim as the Samaritan place of worship while acknowledging the Jewish claim to Jerusalem. This ancient conflict over the proper place to worship God is her attempt to regain control and perhaps test Jesus' prophetic authority on a matter deeply important to her identity.
Jesus has just revealed He knows about her multiple marriages, cutting through her attempts to deflect. In response, the woman quickly shifts the conversation from her personal life to a long-standing religious dispute, pointing to Mount Gerizim as the Samaritan place of worship while acknowledging the Jewish claim to Jerusalem. This ancient conflict over the proper place to worship God is her attempt to regain control and perhaps test Jesus' prophetic authority on a matter deeply important to her identity.
"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship th…" — This woman deftly shifts the conversation from her personal life to a long-standing religious dispute, using "our fathers" to invoke tradition and legitimacy for the Samaritan worship site on Mount G…
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Last reviewed October 2026
