Seeketh such to worship Him (rovovtous Enel Tovs mpoc- Kuvoovtas avtov). A rather peculiar construction. Lit., seeketh such as those worshipping him : as His worshippers. Such: i.e., those who worship in spirit and in truth, and are therefore real (adn Sol) worshippers of the real God (aAnSwov Oeor, xvii. 3).
24. God is a Spirit (wvedwa o Oeds). Or, as Rev., in marg., God is Spirit. Spirit is the emphatic word; Spirit is God. The phrase describes the nature, not the personality of God. Compare the expressions, God és light ; God is love (1 John i. Oe FV S) ;
25. Messiah cometh. The woman uses the Jewish name, which was known in Samaria. The Samaritans also expected the Messiah, basing their hopes on such Scriptures as Gen. iii. 15; xlix. 10; Num. xxiv. 17; Deut. xviii. 15. They looked for Him to restore the kingdom of Israel and to re-establish the worship on Gerizim, where they supposed that the tabernacle was hidden. They called Him Hushab or Hathab, meaning the Converter, or, according to some, the Returning One. The Samaritan idea was less worldly and political than the Jewish.
Which is called Christ. Added by the Evangelist. Com- pare i. 41.
He is come (éxeivos). Emphatic; pointing to Messiah as contrasted with all other teachers.
He will tell (avayyere?). Lit., proclatm or announce. The compounded preposition avd, the radical meaning of which is up, signifies throughout, from bottom to top. The verb is used in xvi. 13, of the revelations of the Comforter.
26. I—am He (eis). Lit., Zam. The less political con- ception of the Samaritan Messiah made it possible for Jesus to announce Himself to the woman without fear of being misun- derstood as He was by the Jews. Compare Matt. viii. 4; xvi. 20.
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