ἐν τῷ μετ. Between her departure and their arrival.

ἠρώτων. Were beseeching Him (John 4:40; John 4:47): they had left him exhausted with the journey (John 4:6), and they urge, not their own wonder (John 4:27), but His needs.

Ῥαββί. See on John 1:39. Here and in John 9:2 and John 11:8 our translators have rather regrettably turned ‘Rabbi’ into ‘Master’ (comp. Matthew 26:25; Matthew 26:49; Mark 9:5; Mark 11:21; Mark 14:45); while ‘Rabbi’ is retained John 1:38; John 1:49; John 3:2; John 3:26; John 6:25 (comp. Matthew 23:7-8). Apparently their principle was that wherever a disciple addresses Christ, ‘Rabbi’ is to be translated ‘Master;’ in other cases ‘Rabbi’ is to be retained; thus obscuring the view which the disciples took of their own relation to Jesus. He was their Rabbi.

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Old Testament