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Sychar did not have much claim to fame except for its proximity to Jacob’s Well. Other than its own residents and the people who passed through on their way to fetch a supply of water, few if any knew the name Sychar. It stood in the shadow of its larger neighbor, Shechem, whose history dated back to the kings of the Ten Tribes of Israel. It was an important intersection of the road coming north from Jerusalem and the road going west to the great sea.
Jesus sat close to Jacob’s Well, resting while the others spread out trying to find food and scouting the roads to make sure all was safe. Simon had warned him to keep his mouth shut, because when Jesus spoke, he drew unwanted attention to himself. Standing sternly as if he were the parent rather than the younger sibling, Simon had explained that here in Samaria they could face hostility. They would have no commerce with the people here anyway, so it would be best to just take stock of their supplies and the safety of their surroundings, and then move on as quickly as possible.
A woman carried several pails to the well. She looked familiar. After a moment, Jesus realized she was the same woman who had been at the well when he came here with Ephraim some years earlier. Leaving the shade of the tree where he had been sitting, he approached the well.
“When you draw the water, can I please have a drink?”
The woman glanced at his clothing to confirm what she heard in his accent. “You are a Galilean. Why would I give you water?”
He smiled. “Well, if it would not cause a scandal for you and your husband, I could offer to help you carry these pails of water back to the village after you have filled them. Would that be worth a sip of water?”
She returned his smile. “I have no husband, so I do not expect a scandal. Yes, I will give you a drink of water.”
Ephraim’s story came back in an instant. “It is true, what you say. You have had five husbands, but you are not married to the man you live with now.”
His words startled her, and she squinted at him. “Do I know you?”
“We have never met. As you say, I am a Galilean just passing through.”
A few minutes later Simon and Andrew, standing near the village’s synagogue, turned and saw Jesus carrying two large pails of water as he walked with a woman up the path from the well. The woman called out to several of her neighbors, “Come here. A prophet has come to visit us.” A small crowd started to gather.
Simon grimaced and folded his arms across his chest in frustration. Shaking his head at Andrew, he muttered, “I can’t take him anywhere.”