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Jesus And The Samaritan Woman: A Coda, Alan Watson

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For the final examination in my 'Law and the Gospels' class at the University of Georgia Law School, fall semester in 2004, I set essay questions, one of which was about law in the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4. Several students chose that option. I had already published on the subject, claiming that the episode involved a sexual 'come-on' by the woman. 'Bucket' was a hidden -- not too hidden -- word for 'penis', 'well' likewise for 'vagina', and 'living water' for 'semen'. In antiquity, as in the modern Western world (until recently), women were …