Greek word · G501

ἀντλέω

antleō

to draw

The verb comes from ἄντλος, the bilge or hold of a ship and the water that collects there. Its first sense is 'to bail out'. In ordinary use it broadened to 'draw water', usually from a well or cistern with a bucket or jar.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀντλέω, -ῶ

(ἄντλος, bilge-water in a hold), [in LXX for שָׁאַב, etc. ;]

1. prop., to bale out.

2. Generally, to draw water: absol., John 2:8 4:15; ὕδωρ, John 2:9 4:7 (on its use of the water made wine, see DCG, ii, 815a; MM, VGT, see word; Field, Notes, 84 f.).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of John 2:8

Range of meaning

The verb comes from ἄντλος, the bilge or hold of a ship and the water that collects there. Its first sense is 'to bail out'. In ordinary use it broadened to 'draw water', usually from a well or cistern with a bucket or jar. By metaphor it could mean drawing something out to the full, or bearing something to the end.

Against the English

'Draw out' (KJV) and 'draw some out' (BSB, WEB) are accurate. 'Dip some out' or 'take some' lose the specific picture of drawing water. That picture matters because John keeps calling the liquid 'water' while it is drawn.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) it is the standard verb for drawing water at a well. Rebekah 'draws' for Abraham's servant (Gen 24:13, 20), and Jethro's daughters 'draw' at the well in Midian (Exod 2:16, 19). Isaiah 12:3 has: 'With joy you will draw (ἀντλήσετε) water from the springs of salvation.' In the New Testament the word appears only in John: here, in 2:9, and in 4:7, 15, where the Samaritan woman comes to 'draw' water at Jacob's well.

From the study of John 4:15

Range of meaning

ἀντλέω (antleō): to draw liquid, especially water from a well or cistern. It comes from ἄντλος, the hold of a ship where bilge water collects. A related noun ἄντλημα means the bucket (4:11).

Against the English

'To draw water' is accurate. The BSB adds 'water' to make plain English. The Greek has only the verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 12:3 LXX: 'You will draw (ἀντλήσετε) water with joy from the springs of salvation.' Later Jewish tradition connected this verse with the water rite at the Feast of Tabernacles, the setting of John 7:37–38. In John the verb otherwise appears only at Cana (2:8–9), where servants draw out water that has become wine.

From the study of John 4:7

Range of meaning

To draw or bail out liquid. It comes from antlos, the water in a ship's hold. In the Greek Old Testament it means drawing water from a well or spring.

Against the English

"Draw" is accurate. Modern readers may not picture the physical work: lowering a skin bucket on a rope into a deep shaft. Jacob's well is famously deep (v.11, "the well is deep").

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 12:3 in the Greek Old Testament: "you will draw (antlēsete) water with joy from the springs of salvation." This line was tied to the water-drawing celebration at the Feast of Booths (Mishnah Sukkah 4–5), the background of John 7:37–38. John also uses the verb in the Cana story (2:8–9), where servants "drew" what had become wine.

Where it appears

John · 4

  1. John 2:8 ἀντλήσατε do draw out

    “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,

    Here: This is a command to scoop or draw liquid out of a container or a well. Its tense presents it as one complete act: draw some out. The word is normally used for water. The narrator still calls it 'water' when it is carried (v. 9: 'the servants who had drawn the water').

  2. John 2:9 ἠντληκότες having drawn

    and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside

  3. John 4:7 ἀντλῆσαι to draw

    When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

    Here: An infinitive of purpose ("in order to draw"): drawing water up from a deep well with a bucket and rope. Jesus has no bucket (v.11), so she has the means and he does not.

  4. John 4:15 ἀντλεῖν. to draw.

    The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

    Here: To haul water up out of a deep well, the hard daily work she came to do (4:7). Jesus had nothing to draw with (4:11), and she now hopes to be done with drawing water.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.