We just talked about the Samaritan woman at the well in the Bible study I attend. I realized that there is a pattern of women at wells in Biblical stories, so I pulled what I knew together and did a little more study about Photina - the Samaritan woman at the well, and other women at wells.
Hagar is found by the angel of the Lord by a well. (She is an Egyptian - a stranger to Abraham's people - she has been rejected by her husband, but God found her by a well and sees her and hears her and makes her a promise).
Keturah who will become one of Abraham's wives is found at the Well of Sheba. (Her son, Midian, is Zipporah's ancestor.)
Rebekah, who will become Isaac's wife is found for him as she draws water from a well. (Her father, Bethuel, is Abraham's nephew.)
Rachel, who will become Jacob's wife, is found for him as she brings her flock to a well and Jacob removes the stone covering the well, so she can draw water. (Her son Joseph marries Asenath.)
Asenath, who will become Joseph's wife, served at a shrine with a well (She is also an Egyptian - a stranger to Abraham's people - brought into the people of God). (Her son Ephriam is Jesus' ancestor.)
Tamar who will bear Judah's children, is met by him at a well. (Her son Perez is Jesus' ancestor.)
Zipporah, who will become Moses' wife, is at the well to draw water, but Moses draws for her. (She is a Midianite - considered a stranger.) (Her son Eliezer is Jesus' ancestor.)
Achsah, Caleb's daughter, is given land by her father, and as a wedding gift, he also gives her two springs (wells) - the upper and the lower adjacent to her land. (A woman who is given an inheritance including springs of water.)
Photina is met by Jesus at a well - at Jacob's Well to be exact. And here are some more things I found interesting -
The tribe of Ephraim (the same Ephriam who is Jesus' ancestor) is the tribe the Samaritans descended from.
Photina has had five husbands and is now with a sixth man. The tribe of Ephriam adopted false gods from six nations.
Now Jesus - who always redeems, and who is the true Bridegroom, offers her living water. He is the seventh man. The one who brings completion and rest (on the seventh day, God rested). He is offering Photina redemption - and is also offering Ephriam's decendents redemption - because she runs to tell them that she has met the Messiah!
And Jesus sits on the well as he talks with Photina. This was not done. But there is a tie back to Jacob and Rachel. Jacob, before removing the stone covering the well, makes the comment "Behold it is high day; it is not time for the [miqneh] to be gathered." The word miqneh refers to livestock (or flocks) and literally means "the purchased". Jesus (our cornerstone, our foundation) is sitting on the well at noon (high day) and he tells his disciples that the field is white for harvest (which means people are ready to believe on him - and in believing, are purchased by his gift of salvation). When Jacob looked out, while the well was covered with a stone, it was not time for the purchased ones to be gathered. When Jesus looked out, siting on the well as the Stone - the Cornerstone, it was now time for the purchased ones to be gathered.
Jesus found Photina at the well - she is a picture of the church - the Bride of Christ comprised of relatives and strangers rejected by some, but found by God, seen and heard by God, and brought into His promise. We are purchased and given an inheritance, springs of living water, and true rest.
Sources:
Genesis 16:7-15 (Hagar at the well)
Genesis 24:11-67 (Rebekah at the well)
Genesis 29:1-14 (Jacob and Rachel at the well)
Genesis 38:13-30 (Tamar at the shrine - shrines had wells)
Genesis 41:45 (Asenath daughter of the priest who served at a shrine - with a well)
Genesis 25:1, 22:19 (Keturah is Abraham's wife, Abraham stayed in Beersheba [Beer=well, so Well of Sheba] with her)
Exodus 2:16-22 (Zipporah at the well)
Judges 1:12-15 (Achsah is given two springs)
I Kings 12:25-33 and II Kings 17:30-31 (The six nations that Ephriam adopted false gods from)
Genesis 25:1-2 (Midian is Keturah and Abraham's son)
Exodus 2:16, 18, & 21 (Zipporah is daughter of Reuel, a descendent and priest of Midian)
Genesis 24:15 (Rebekah's father is Abraham's nephew)
Genesis 35:24 (Rachel is Joseph's mother) Genesis 41:45 (Joseph marries Asenath)
Genesis 46:20 (Asenath is Ephraim's mother) (Ephraim is Joseph’s son; Joseph is Judah’s brother; Jesus is of the line of Judah)
The Samaritans occupied the land that was allotted to Ephraim and there is historical and DNA evidence that they descended from Ephraim.
Photina is not named in the Bible - but historical church records name her Photina or Photini. And from Alice Linsley, a Biblical Anthropologist, The Samaritan woman who Jesus spoke to at Jacob's well is known as Photini (enlightened one). She is esteemed among Christians. In the Eastern Church, she is regarded as "equal to the Apostles." She is the first evangelist in the New Testament since she ran to tell everyone about Messiah's appearing, and tradition holds that she and her children were martyred in Carthage.
I Peter 2:4 (Christ is the Living Stone)
Isaiah 28:16 and I Peter 2:6 (Christ is the Cornerstone)
The comparisons of Jesus at the well and Jacob at the well are drawn from Genesis 29:1-14 and John 4:6-42.
Much of the Old Testament is pictures and foretelling of what is to be fulfilled in Jesus. I love to find these connections. God is an amazing storyteller - telling the best story - the good news - the Gospel.
I also learned from:
Just Genesis: A Woman at a Well by Alice Linsley and The Ecclesiology of Wells by Remy Wilkins