502. antléma
Lexical Summary
antléma: Drawing (of water), bucketful

Original Word: ἀντλῆμα
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: antléma
Pronunciation: an-TLAY-mah
Phonetic Spelling: (ant'-lay-mah)
KJV: thing to draw with
NASB: draw
Word Origin: [from G501 (ἀντλέω - draw)]

1. a baling-vessel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bucket, baling vessel

From antleo; a baling-vessel -- thing to draw with.

see GREEK antleo

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from antleó
Definition
a container to draw with
NASB Translation
draw (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 502: ἄντλημα

ἄντλημα, ἀντλητος, τό;

a. properly, what is drawn, (Dioscor. 4, 64).

b. the act of drawing water (Plutarch, mor. (de solert. an. 21, 1), p. 974 e. (but this example belongs rather under c.)).

c. a thing to draw with (cf. Winers Grammar, 93 (89)), bucket and rope let down into a well: John 4:11.

Topical Lexicon
Word and Imagery

Ἄντλημα denotes the vessel used for drawing water from a deep source. Though it appears only once, its concrete picture opens a window into a larger biblical motif: humanity’s need to draw life-sustaining water and God’s gracious provision of living water.

Historical and Cultural Background

In first-century Palestine, wells were communal centers. Travelers carried a leather bucket or relied on the host village to supply one; a stranger without a bucket faced genuine hardship. The absence of such a tool signaled dependency upon local hospitality. At Sychar’s well, Jacob’s ancient gift (Genesis 33:19) still served daily life, and its depth—over one hundred feet in some traditions—made a bucket indispensable.

Literary Setting in John 4

John frames the Samaritan woman’s remark, “Sir, You have nothing with which to draw water, and the well is deep” (John 4:11), to heighten the contrast between earthly means and divine sufficiency. Her focus on the missing ἄντλημα underscores physical limitation; Jesus answers by offering Himself as the inexhaustible source: “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst” (John 4:14). The lone occurrence of the term therefore becomes a narrative hinge—moving the dialogue from literal water to spiritual life.

Biblical Theology of Drawing Water

1. Covenant Provision
Genesis 24:15-20 portrays Rebekah drawing water, signaling God’s providence in covenant marriage.
Exodus 17:6 foreshadows Christ when water flows from the smitten rock.

2. Worship and Joy
Isaiah 12:3: “With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.” The prophet anticipates messianic fulfillment where drawing no longer depends on human vessels but on God’s direct supply.

3. Wisdom and Instruction
Proverbs 5:15 encourages drinking from one’s own cistern—an ethical metaphor for covenant faithfulness.

4. Eschatological Abundance
Revelation 7:17: “The Lamb... will guide them to springs of living water.” The need for any ἄντλημα disappears in the consummated kingdom; the Lamb Himself mediates refreshment.

Christological Significance

The missing bucket dramatizes the insufficiency of human effort. Jesus, greater than Jacob (John 4:12), bypasses conventional implements, revealing that the mediator of the new covenant personally dispenses life. The scene anticipates John 7:37-39, where living water becomes the Holy Spirit poured out, not drawn up.

Ministry and Discipleship Implications

• Dependence: Believers confront tasks for which they possess “nothing with which to draw.” Awareness of inadequacy drives reliance on Christ.
• Evangelism: Like the Samaritan woman, seekers often fixate on practical obstacles; the gospel redirects them to the sufficiency of Jesus.
• Hospitality: Providing “a bucket” to strangers—meeting physical needs—creates openings for spiritual conversation.

Connections with Old Testament Types

Jacob’s well invites comparison with earlier well encounters—Eliezer and Rebekah (Genesis 24), Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 29), Moses and Zipporah (Exodus 2). Each meeting at water leads to covenant expansion. In John 4 the pattern culminates as the Bridegroom meets a Samaritan woman, signaling the gathering of all peoples into one flock.

Eschatological Perspective

The temporary utility of a bucket foreshadows its obsolescence when “the river of the water of life, clear as crystal” flows from God’s throne (Revelation 22:1). Until that day, the Church serves as the vessel through which living water is drawn for a thirsty world.

Summary

Ἄντλημα, though a humble object and a hapax legomenon, magnifies the gospel’s message: human tools cannot reach the depths of spiritual need, yet in Christ the wellspring of eternal life is freely given.

Forms and Transliterations
αντλημα άντλημα ἄντλημα antlema antlēma ántlema ántlēma
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
John 4:11 N-ANS
GRK: Κύριε οὔτε ἄντλημα ἔχεις καὶ
NAS: nothing to draw with and the well
KJV: nothing to draw with, and
INT: Sir nothing to draw with you have and

Strong's Greek 502
1 Occurrence


ἄντλημα — 1 Occ.

501
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