This is from Scott Hahn:
One interesting fact that you might not be aware of – what is the Hebrew word for husband? There are different words, but one very common word for husband is Baal. Interesting, isn’t it? You see, there were two different kinds of marriages in the Old Testament. You can see this reflected in Galatians, chapter 4, where Paul says, “You desire to be under the law. Don’t you hear the law, for it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman.” You see he had two sons because he had what? Two marriages: One by a slave woman, Hagar, and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. Then he goes on to show how Hagar, the slave wife, the concubine, bore Ishmael and how Sarah, the free wife, the first wife, the only wife Abraham was supposed to have, bore Isaac, the child of promise.
You see, back in the ancient times, if you were a husband, if you were a man, you were a patriarchal figure and you wanted to extend your own power and influence, you wanted to acquire more power, you used sex. You would multiply concubines because in multiplying wives or concubine slave women, you would be multiplying slaves, because all of the children they would have would be, in effect, your slaves later on. So Hagar bore children for slavery, whereas Sarah bore Abraham children for freedom. Sarah would address Abraham as “'adon,” the word for husband in Hebrew that a free woman would utter; whereas Hagar would describe Abraham as “Ba’ali,” my “Baal,” my master, my Lord husband, because a concubine understood that she was owned by her husband. So there were two forms of marriage – one for freedom and the other one for slavery.
Code:
That woman had a tragic series of unfortunate marriages, but she began to see through the eyes of faith how her own struggles with immorality, perhaps, with the abuse by men or whatever other problems that she faced, that reality of her own life was providentially tailored, designed by God to prepare her to recognize Christ. Many interpreters suppose that when Jesus said, "And the one you are with now is not your own husband," that that supposes that she is sleeping with a man. That isn't necessarily all that the text is suggesting. The idea is probably, at least in my opinion, that you've had five husbands and the one you're with right now, that is me, I'm not your husband.
He’s meeting her at a well. In the Old Testament, do you know enough of the Old Testament to recognize what often takes place at a well? You meet your spouse-to-be; you meet your future spouse. That’s where Isaac’s future spouse was first encountered. That’s where Jacob meets his wife. That’s where Moses meets his wife. Throughout the Old Testament, the well is a meeting place where you meet your future husband.
Here is this Samaritan woman meeting Jesus and he points out how you have five husbands and she sees that. And then He says, “But the one you are with now is not your husband.” Not yet, at least. And she recalls the prophecy. She vividly remembers how all the prophets said that you are going to have these five Baals until the Messiah comes, “
the prophet like unto Moses.” And Hosea and Ezekiel both describe how the Lord will send this prophet Messiah and He will betroth himself to the Samaritans, not as the Baals did, not as a taskmaster, not as a Lord Master does a slave woman, but as a free man marries a free woman to bear children for freedom, for responsibility. That’s why she says, “
Sir, I perceive you are a prophet. You are a prophet like unto Moses.” You are a Messianic figure.
Notworthy
Any insights into this? How do we translate the word HUSBAND in this passage?
) and then he addressed her need deep in her heart for greater meaning (living water).