A Samaritan woman had no idea that her day would finish the way it did, as she went as usual doing her task for that day. It was about noon when she had the most important encounter, which changed her life for eternity. A woman with a spiritual need, seeking and searching the truth about spiritual things, the Samaritan woman was thirsty for the water that would satisfy her eternally. She knew enough about the Law to understand some aspect of it and follow it to some extent, but not in its entirety, for she was bathed in idolatry mingled with the Law’s tradition. YAHSHUA met her at the heat of the day, when she came to fetch water, while He sat down to rest by the well. The Bible says that “It was necessary for Him to go through Samaria” on His way to Galilea from Judea. God’s plan for the Gentiles was being fulfilled in that ordinary day. It started with YAHSHUA asking her for a drink. The Samaritan woman presented Him a question which defined the separation between Jews and Samaritans, since the Jews had nothing to do with them. She asked, “How is it that You being a Jew ask me, a Samaritan woman for a drink?” The Samaritans were people of low class to the Jews due to their background origin.
The Samaritans occupied the country formerly belonging to the tribe of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The capital of the country was Samaria, formerly a large and splendid city. When the ten tribes were carried away into captivity to Assyria, the king of Assyria sent people from Cutha, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to inhabit Samaria (2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:2-11). These foreigners intermarried with the Israelite population that was still in and around Samaria. These “Samaritans” at first worshiped the idols of their own nations, but being troubled with lions, they supposed it was because they had not honored the God of that territory. A Jewish priest was therefore sent to them from Assyria to instruct them in the Jewish religion. They were instructed from the books of Moses, but still retained many of their idolatrous customs. The Samaritans embraced a religion that was a mixture of Judaism and idolatry (2 Kings 17:26-28). Because the Israelite inhabitants of Samaria had intermarried with the foreigners and adopted their idolatrous religion, Samaritans were universally despised by the Jews.” (GotQuestions.org)
Light from the Word 