Now Jacob's well was there.— Mr. Maundrell, in his Travels, gives the following account of Jacob's well: "About one-third of an hour from Naplosa (the ancient Sychar, as it is termed in the New Testament) stood Jacob's well, famous not only on account of its author, but much more for the memorable conference which our blessed Lord had there with the woman of Samaria. If it should be inquired whether this be the very place it is pretended to be, seeing it may be suspected to stand too remote from Sychar for the woman to come and draw water, we may answer, that in all probability the city extended farther in former times than it does now, as may be conjectured from some pieces of a very thick wall, the remains perhaps of the ancient Sichem, still to be seen not far from hence. Over it stood formerly a large church, erected by that great and devout patroness, of the Holy Land, the Empress Irene; but of this the voracity of time, assisted by the hands of the Turks, has left nothing but a few foundations remaining. The well is covered at present with an old stone vault, into which you are let down by a very straight hole; and then removing a broad flat stone, you discover the well itself. It is dug in a firm rock, is about three yards in diameter, and thirty-five in depth, five of which we found full of water. This confutes a story commonlytold to travellers, who do not take the pains to examine the well; namely, 'that it is dry all the year round, except on the anniversary of that day in which our blessed Saviour sat upon it, but then bubbles up with abundance of water.' At this well the narrow valley of Sichem ends, opening itself into a wide field, which probably is part of the piece of ground given by Jacob to his son Joseph. It is watered by a fresh stream running between it and Sichem, which makes it so exceeding verdant and fruitful, that it may well be looked upon as a standing token of the kindness of that good patriarch to the best of sons." See Genesis 48:22.
Jesus therefore—sat thus on the well— Sat down immediately by the well. Doddridge. Whitby says "Sat down thus, means, weary as he was." And it was about the sixth hour, says the evangelist, that is, about six in the evening, and not, as commentators have generally thought, in the middle of the day, or at highnoon; for in those countries the women never draw water in the middle of the day, but always about sun-setting, as is evident from Genesis 24:11. Wherefore, as the woman came to draw water while Jesus was sitting by the well, it cannot be the Jewish but the Roman sixth hour, of which the sacred historian speaks. See on Ch. John 1:39. By this time, as the verse informs us, Jesus was fatigued with his journey; and therefore, before he proceeded, he sent his disciples to the nearest town for refreshment, as there was no place upon the road where he could meet with any accommodation. It may be objected, that the circumstances of the history oblige us to suppose, that this journey through Samaria was made so late in the year, that the transactions could not happen at six in the evening. But it may be proved, that when Jesus preached in the synagogue of Nazareth, after leaving Samaria, it was about the beginning of September; whence it will appear, that he travelled through Samaria in August: if so, all the particulars here related may have happened in the time allotted to them on this supposition: for when Jesus sat down by the well, it was about the sixth hour, perhaps near half an hour before it; and from that time till it was dark, was sufficient for all the transactions mentioned in this history.