There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said unto her,
Give me to drink.
All Commentaries on John 4:7 Go To John 4
Theophilus of Antioch
AD 184
The argument with the woman arises naturally from the occasion: Jesus says to her, Give me to drink. As man, the labor and heat He had undergone had made Him thirsty.
The grace of the Holy Spirit then He calls living water; i.e. life-giving, refreshing, stirring. For the grace of the Holy Spirit is ever stirring him who does good works, directing the risings of his heart.
The addition, and his cattle, shows the abundance of the water; as if she said, Not only is the water sweet, so that Jacob and his sons drank of it, but so abundant, that it satisfied the vast multitude of the Patriarchs’ cattle.
