John emphasises that Jesus had to pass through Samaria. Historically, Jews often avoided travelling through Sychar in Samaria on their way to Galilee, preferring a route along the Jordan because of tensions between Jews and . Verse four recalls this practice. Aware of the importance of his encounter at the well of Sychar, Jesus went there deliberately.
The well is mentioned in Genesis 33.18-20, where the patriarch Jacob buys a field before giving it to Joseph. John notes that it was the sixth hour, which may mean noon by Jewish timekeeping and 6 p.m. by timekeeping. However, in John 19.14, the sixth hour seems to correspond to six in the morning, leading us to think that John uses the system; it would therefore be 6 p.m.
Jesus and his disciples’ journey from Alexandrium to Sychar is about twenty-four kilometres. Jesus appears tired, while the disciples go into the village to buy food. This tiredness could be explained by a lack of sleep.
Verse six suggests that the disciples left Jesus alone, perhaps indicating a small number of companions. John was probably present on this journey.
John then reports a long conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman, drawing his information from her testimony. This account follows that of Nicodemus, contrasting two figures: Nicodemus, an educated, religious man, and the Samaritan woman, an outsider less concerned with religion. Both, however, discover Jesus and change the course of their lives.