On the basis of Jesus’ insight into her situation, the woman judges that he is a prophet. She does not refer to him as “the prophet,” as though she had a specific reference in mind (as in Deut 18.15, 18), but simply as a prophet. It does seem, however, that she assumes that a prophet might have authority to settle legal questions, as implied in the next verse.

The term prophet must be expressed in several different ways, depending on the context in the Scriptures. In some instances the meaning certainly is “one who foretells the future,” in others the emphasis is upon “one who makes inspired utterances.” In some languages the tendency has been to translate prophet by a term meaning “diviner” or “one who foretells the future,” but it is increasingly common to render prophet as “one who speaks for God” or “a messenger from God.” This type of expression fits well in the present context.

The woman addresses Jesus by the same word that she used in verses 11 and 15. Most translators and commentators understand sir here as a simple address; a few see a transition to the meaning of “Lord.” For a discussion of the translational difficulties involved in rendering sir, see under verse 11.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .