‘[Y]ou have had five husbands’: Interpreting the Samaritan woman’s marital experience (Jn 4:16–18) in the Nigerian context

Abstract

The Samaritan woman in John 4 has been generally viewed as morally loose because of her marital experience. Nigerian women with similar experience  are also perceived by many as morally deficient. This article examined the woman’s experience in light of divorce and remarriage in Nigeria. Employing  the reader-oriented and descriptive methods, the essay found that in his encounter with the Samaritan woman Jesus did not accuse her of any sin.  Moreover, the Pentateuchal laws, which were binding also on Samaritans, had provisions by which it was permissible for a woman to be married several  times. Therefore, the woman’s marital experience did not necessarily make her morally deficient. The article also found that in Nigeria certain patriarchal  factors do force women out of marriage, which also has nothing to do with their moral status. Due to the Christian doctrine that prohibits a woman to  marry another man while her husband is still alive, some churches treat women divorcees with contempt and segregation. But this doctrine is based on  biblical passages, which if adapted to the Nigerian readers’ context make divorce and remarriage acceptable. This view is in line with Jesus’ open attitude  to the Samaritan woman. Therefore, in the Nigerian context the pastoral significance of the Samaritan woman’s story resides not in her morality but in  the church recognising that divorce and remarriage do not constitute disobedience to scripture, and that they are not necessarily an indication of moral  misconduct on the part of the affected women.

Contribution: Contributing to the scholarly discussion on the Samaritan woman narrative, the article compared her marital experience with those of  Nigerian women affected by divorce and remarriage, and postulated that their experiences are not necessarily an indication of moral depravity on their  part.