The woman answered is literally “therefore the Samaritan woman says to him.” Here again John uses his favorite particle (oun see the comments on oun on page 68), represented in the literal rendering by “therefore.”

Revised Standard Version represents a fairly literal translation of the next part of this verse. “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” For the sake of emphasizing the contrast between Jews and Samaritans, Good News Translation introduces this information first in the woman’s statement, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan, The reader thus knows immediately that there is some significant difference between Jews and Samaritans, and so the woman’s question is readily understood.

If translated literally, how can you ask me for a drink? may suggest the wrong meaning in some receptor languages; for the source of the woman’s surprise is not the ability of Jesus to ask her for a drink, but the high improbability that he would do so. In some languages this question may be translated “How is it possible that you would ask me for a drink?” or “I cannot imagine your asking me for a drink” or “Isn’t it very strange indeed that you ask me to give you water to drink?”

Will not use the same dishes (New English Bible “do not use vessels in common”) is taken by most translators in the sense of “do not associate with” or “have nothing to do with” (New American Bible). The more recent commentaries on the Gospel of John seem to prefer the meaning Good News Translation gives this verb. If this is the true meaning, the account reflects a Jewish religious regulation in force around A.D. 65. According to this regulation, Samaritan women were in a state of perpetual ritual impurity from the time of their birth, and anyone who had contact with them would share this ritual impurity. The regulation adds that for this reason “the Jews do not use dishes in common with the Samaritans.” The more recent commentaries favor this interpretation, while the majority of translations follow the other one. No dogmatic conclusion is possible. Whether the reference was to using dishes in common with Samaritans or merely associating with them, Jesus ignored the custom.

Since there are two distinct interpretations of the Greek text, translators should indicate this fact by putting one interpretation in the text and the other in a marginal note. The interpretation followed by Good News Translation may be rendered “Jews do not eat or drink from the same dishes or cups that the Samaritans do” or “When Jews eat and drink, they do not use the same dishes that Samaritans use.” If, however, an interpretation relating to complete avoidance is employed, it is always possible to say, “The Jews will have no dealings whatsoever with the Samaritans.” It may be expressed idiomatically in some languages as “The Jews never join with the Samaritans” or “The Jews and the Samaritans never use anything together” or “There is nothing which Samaritans use which Jews would also use.”

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 .