You worship
This phrase is directed towards the Samaritan woman, representing the Samaritan people. The Greek word for "worship" here is "προσκυνέω" (proskuneo), which means to bow down or show reverence. Historically, the Samaritans had a form of worship that was a mixture of Jewish and pagan practices, which lacked the full revelation of God as given to the Jews. This highlights the importance of worshiping God in truth and understanding, not just in tradition or ritual.

what you do not know
The Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch and worshiped on Mount Gerizim, but they did not have the full revelation of God as given to the Jews. The Greek word "οὐκ οἴδατε" (ouk oidate) implies a lack of intimate knowledge or understanding. This phrase underscores the necessity of knowing God personally and accurately, which is a central theme in Christian theology.

we worship
Here, Jesus identifies with the Jewish people, who had received the full revelation of God through the Law and the Prophets. The use of "we" signifies a collective understanding and practice of worship that is based on the truth revealed by God. This emphasizes the continuity of God's revelation from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

what we do know
The Jews had the complete Scriptures and the history of God's dealings with His people, which provided them with a clear understanding of who God is. The Greek "οἴδαμεν" (oidamen) suggests a deep, experiential knowledge. This phrase highlights the privilege and responsibility of having access to God's revealed truth.

for salvation
The Greek word "σωτηρία" (soteria) refers to deliverance or preservation, often used in the context of spiritual salvation. This points to the ultimate purpose of God's revelation and the coming of Jesus Christ, which is to bring salvation to humanity. It underscores the central message of the Gospel.

is from the Jews
This phrase acknowledges the Jewish roots of Christian faith. The Greek "ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων" (ek ton Ioudaion) indicates origin or source. Historically, Jesus, the Messiah, came from the Jewish people, fulfilling the prophecies and promises given to them. This highlights the importance of the Jewish heritage in understanding the Christian faith and the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ.

(22) For salvation is of the Jews.--This verse has sorely tried critics who seek to construct the Gospel out of their judgments of what it should be. It can be no difficulty to those who seek to form their judgments from the Gospel as it is. Assume that the Gospel belongs to the Greek thought of the close of the second century, and the verse must be omitted, though it is certainly part of the original text; accept the Gospel as belonging to the Hebrew thought of the first century, and this touch of Jewish theology is in entire harmony with it. The contrast between the Samaritan and the Jewish worship lay in its history, its state at that time, and its rejection of the fuller teaching of the prophetical books of the Old Testament. "In every way the Jews had much advantage, but chiefly that unto them were committed the oracles of God." Little as they knew the treasure they possessed, they were the guardians of spiritual truth for the world, and in a sense deeper than they could fathom, "salvation was of the Jews." (Comp. Romans 3:2; Romans 9:4-5, Notes; Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2.)

The "we" of this verse is in answer to the "ye" of John 4:20. She identifies Him with those who claim Jerusalem as the place of worship. That "ye" contained its own answer. In using it she had said that the Messiah was of the Jews. . . .

Verse 22 - Ye worship that which (not "him whom") ye know not. "That which" points to the essence and inner character of the object of their worship. They gave him a name, but they were comparatively ignorant of, and confessedly hostile as a people to, the revelation that the Father had made. They fell back on a past of rigid orthodoxy but of limited range. They rejected every portion of the Old Testament with the exception of the Pentateuch, i.e. the entire historical treatment of the primeval faith; even that very essence of it which involved the progressive and expanding conception of the character of God - the perpetuity and continuous renovation of relations, the prophetic insight into providence, the sublime liturgy of a ceaseless worship, the prediction of a Messianic glory which, in the fulness of the times, should complete and complement all that preceded. They were, by their prejudices and hostility, kept ignorant of and unacquainted with the Name that was above every name. In contradistinction from this, we Jews, to whom as a nation you rightly conclude I belong, and as a representative of whom I speak - We worship that which we know. Christ in this place, more distinctly perhaps than in any portion of the four Gospels, places himself as a worshipper side by side with his hearers. Here, moreover, he identifies himself with the Jews - becomes their interpreter and mouthpiece and representative. When a question arises, which of the two has the larger amount of truth, Jew or Gentile, Jew or Samaritan, he pronounced in stringent terms in favour of the Jew. The revelation advancing beyond the narrow limitations of Samaritan nationality as to place, and time, and historic fact, with its pregnant ritual, has revealed the Father to us Jews, in this respect and because the salvation of which Moses partly dreamed, but which has been the burden of every prophecy and psalm - the "salvation" which gives meaning to all our knowledge, is from (ἐκ, not "belonging to," but "proceeding from," John 1:46; John 7:22, 52) the Jews. The Jews have been the school where the highest lessons have been taught, the richest experiences felt, the noblest lives lived, the types and shadows of good things to come most conspicuous. We cannot avoid reading between the lines the sublime enthusiasm which Paul gathered from this class of teaching ("To whom pertaineth the adoption,...and covenant,...whose are the fathers, and to whom were committed the oracles of God,... and from whom as concerning the flesh Christ came"). The utterance is profoundly significant, as it is a powerful repudiation of the theory which makes the author of this Fourth Gospel a Gentile of the second century, with a Gnostic antipathy to Judaism and Jews. The contradiction to this theory indubitably involved in this verse has led to the wildest conjectures - even the suggestion of a Jewish gloss on some ancient manuscripts of the Gospel has been one desperate device to save the theory. Taut pis pour les fairs.

Parallel Commentaries ...


You
ὑμεῖς (hymeis)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

worship
προσκυνεῖτε (proskyneite)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4352: From pros and a probable derivative of kuon; to fawn or crouch to, i.e. prostrate oneself in homage.

what
ὃ (ho)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

you do not know;
οἴδατε (oidate)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1492: To know, remember, appreciate.

we
ἡμεῖς (hēmeis)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

worship
προσκυνοῦμεν (proskynoumen)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 4352: From pros and a probable derivative of kuon; to fawn or crouch to, i.e. prostrate oneself in homage.

what
ὃ (ho)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

we do know,
οἴδαμεν (oidamen)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1492: To know, remember, appreciate.

for
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

salvation
σωτηρία (sōtēria)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4991: Feminine of a derivative of soter as noun; rescue or safety.

is
ἐστίν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

from
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

the
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Jews.
Ἰουδαίων (Ioudaiōn)
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 2453: Jewish. From Iouda; Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah.


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NT Gospels: John 4:22 You worship that which you don't know (Jhn Jo Jn)