Traditional exegesis of the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman focus on his revelatory statements, but Day thinks the woman herself interesting enough to spend time thinking about. She argues that the conventional view of her as promiscuous, adulterous and immoral has no basis in the text, and explores where they come from. She offers an alternative reading of the passage and a new understanding of its place in John's Gospel. The study is revised slightly from her 1999 dissertation for Baylor University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)