Jews and Samaritans had been divided for centuries and usually avoided each other. Yet on His way from Judea to Galilee, Jesus traveled through Samaria. Tired at noon, He sat by Jacob’s well while His disciples went into town to buy food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink, which surprised her.
He offered her “living water” that would satisfy her forever, showed that He knew all about her life, and told her plainly that He was the Messiah. She left her water jar, hurried into town and invited everyone to “come, see.” Many came, listened to Jesus for two days and believed He was “the Saviour of the world.”
Who’s who
Jesus: traveling, tired and thirsty
The woman of Samaria: unnamed, coming to draw water at midday
The disciples: who had gone into town to buy food
The people of Sychar: her neighbors, who came to hear Him
Where and when
Jacob’s well near the town of Sychar in Samaria, between Judea and Galilee, at about noon.
Watch for the Savior
Jesus speaks first, offers living water, and tells this woman plainly, “I that speak unto thee am he.”
Eight stops, from the road through Samaria to the fields white to harvest. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: the well at noon, the offer of living water, the road to town and the fields. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
John 1:4 “he Meaning: had to. go through Samaria”
John 1:6 “about the Meaning: about noon. (See Part 3.)”
John 1:9 “the Jews have no Meaning: friendly contact. with the Samaritans”
John 1:10 “Meaning: flowing, fresh spring water, and the life He gives. (See Part 5.)”
John 1:25 “Meaning: the Greek form of Messiah, “anointed one.” cometh, which is called Christ”
John 1:27 “his disciples … Meaning: were amazed. that he talked with the woman”
John 1:35 “they are Meaning: ripe and ready right now.”
Part 3 of 7
Look closer
This is a true account, not a parable. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets and Church resources, and each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. Jacob’s well, the jar she left, the noon sun, the spring inside, the mountain, the missing bucket, the white fields, a heart fully known and the road to town. John 4
Part 4 of 7
Where are you at the well?
People come to the well thirsty, arguing, afraid to be known, or ready to share. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Draw from the well
She came to Jacob’s well to draw water. Draw some yourself and watch what happens to it. Then ask for the water He offered.
“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.” John 4:13
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background shows how far He reached to meet her. Outside sources are labeled.
Church manual
Jews and Samaritans
“By Jesus’s time, relations were so poor that some Jews from Galilee would rather make the long walk around Samaria rather than going through it when traveling to Jerusalem.”9
Yet “he must needs go through Samaria.”
Outside · BYU–Idaho devotional
A need that wasn’t geographic
Gaye Strathearn: “The ‘need’ that John refers to was not geographical.” Jesus “had work to do in Samaria.”11
He went because she was there.
Church manual
The rival temple
The Samaritans “built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim in Samaria. This is the mountain that the woman at the well was referring to.”9
Jesus turned the question from a place to the Father.
Church manual · JST
“God is a Spirit”?
The Joseph Smith Translation reads: “For unto such hath God promised his Spirit.” And “we know from latter-day revelation that God the Father and Jesus Christ have tangible, or physical, bodies.”9
The verse is about how to worship: in spirit and in truth.
Word study · Greek
phrear φρέαρ · “the well is deep” (John 4:11)
Bible Hub: “a well,” also translated “pit.”13Outside · lexicon
When she says “the well is deep,” she means a dug shaft you have to draw from, with effort, every day.1
Word study · Greek
pēgē πηγή · “a well of water springing up” (John 4:14)
Bible Hub: “a spring (of water).”12Outside · lexicon
Jesus promised not another pit to draw from but a spring “in him … springing up into everlasting life.”1 Nephi saw “the fountain of living waters,” which are “a representation of the love of God.”3
What the text does not say
Scripture doesn’t give her name, and it doesn’t say why she came at noon; the manuals say she “may have come at this unusual time to avoid the women of the village.”10 John doesn’t explain her five marriages, and Jesus doesn’t condemn her in the account. He simply knew her, and told her who He is.1
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
He went out of His way, spoke first, knew her fully and told her plainly who He is. He offers the same living water to you.
Sister Susan H. Porter: “Despite her life’s difficulties, one of the Savior’s first public declarations that He was the Messiah was to her. He said, ‘I that speak unto thee am he.’”
“By living the gospel of Jesus Christ, we develop within ourselves a living spring that will quench eternally our thirst for happiness, peace, and everlasting life.”
“The rod of iron … was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God.” 1 Nephi 11:25
Another Testament
Whosoever will come
“Whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life.” Alma 42:27
Part 7 of 7
Seek Him today
His invitation
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” John 7:37
She left her waterpot and ran to tell others.1 What is one way you can drink from His living water this week, and who could you invite to come and see?
Try it today
A little living water each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
0 of 6 today
This week:0 of 7 days
Six days at the well. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“If thou knewest the gift of God.”
Read John 4:10–14 slowly. Picture Him at the well, asking you for a drink and offering you more. Pray now and ask Him for living water; then listen. John 4:10–14
A verse to hold
Talk about it
Why do you think Jesus asked the woman for a drink?
What is the difference between well water and the living water Jesus offered?
Jesus knew everything about her, and still told her who He is. How does that make you feel about Him?
Why do you think she left her waterpot? What did she do next?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Apostle
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Living Water to Quench Spiritual Thirst” (1995)
Walks through the conversation at the well and teaches how obedience and the ordinances open the living spring within us.5
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Woman at the Well is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for February 1–7, 2027 (John 2–4).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This is a true account, not a parable; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
