By including this bit of background information, John is able to set the stage for the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Good News Translation, Moffatt, and New American Bible take this verse as a parenthetical statement. Phillips connects it with the last part of verse 7, and translates “ ‘Please give me a drink,’ Jesus said to her, for his disciples had gone away to the town to buy food.” New English Bible handles the problem by introducing this verse before verse 7: “(8) The disciples had gone away to the town to buy food. (7) Meanwhile a Samaritan woman…” This solution represents the elements as they would naturally appear in English narrative. That is, it is more natural to introduce the information that the disciples were gone before bringing a new character on the scene. If the order of the two verses is not reversed, it is better to set off verse 8 as a parenthetical explanation, setting the background for the narrative.

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 .