Book Title: A DEEPER WELL
Character Name: Nessa bat Raanan
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
We are like any other family in Sychar, I suppose. I’m the youngest in a family of four daughters and one son. My father would have preferred more sons. I am his favorite daughter because they say I am beautiful. I can fetch a greater bride-price when the time comes. My cousin Lavi came to live with us when I was young—his parent died and he was left with no one except us. Lavi always makes me laugh.
What was your greatest talent?
I learned to weave and am quite skilled at it. I love working with the colors and the patterns and seeing the cloth form beneath my fingers.
Significant other?
If I’d had my way, I would have married Lavi when I was finally old enough to beget. My life did not turn out the way I’d hoped.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
Living in peace with my mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Men act so foolishly around me, whereas women resent me—most women. There are a few exceptions like my best friend Gali and my sister Yaffa.
Where do you live?
The town of Sychar in Samaria.
Do you have any enemies?
Every mother-in-law and sister-in-law I’ve ever had except for Hila, Amichai’s daughter-in-law, and Elisheva, Osher’s mother. They were kind to me. Most others were not.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
As I never seem to be able to remain in the same place for long, the only place I’m attached to is my childhood home. I always feel safe here, protected. But when my brother married Malka, my home was no longer the haven it used to be.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
I will let you read my story for that answer. The answer is too hard to put into simple words.
What do you do for a living?
What every other woman in Sychar does. I work to help the household. Most of the time, I’ve been allowed to weave, which brings in a goodly sum. I draw water, prepare food, care for my husbands’ needs. What else can a wife do?
Greatest disappointment?
Oh, there are far too many to list. But I think my disappointments would be a combination of wishing I’d been born without such outward beauty, and I wish God answered my prayers.
Greatest source of joy?
I’m not sure I’ve ever known lasting joy. I’ve had a few moments, but my story will tell you that.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
Fun? We work, we eat, we sleep, we wake up and do the same. I enjoy the times when I can meet Gali at the well. I have not always had friends, so I treasure those I have.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
I never should have encouraged Lavi or let him kiss me that long-ago day. I often wonder if God is punishing me because my heart has betrayed me with my love for a cousin I can never have.
What keeps you awake at night?
Fear. Fear of loss. Fear of failing in another marriage. Fear of disappointing my father or brother.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Staying in a happy marriage. Sometimes I think I am cursed because the families I’ve known eventually end up turning against me.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I want Lavi. I’ve always wanted Lavi. But maybe more than any man, I want to be cherished for who I am, not for what I look like. I’m not sure anyone ever has cared for me like that. Perhaps Lavi has, but it has been my experience that no man can ever satisfy the longings of my heart. I long for true acceptance and love.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
What is in the way of having Lavi? My father. My brother. Life’s circumstances. What is stopping someone from truly loving me? Cherishing me? I don’t know. Maybe that’s a question only God can answer, and He doesn’t seem to see me. I wish He would see me.
A DEEPER WELL by Jill Eileen Smith
Ancient Historical Biblical Fiction Retelling of the Woman at the Well for Fans of The Chosen
In ancient Israel, soon after Nessa is of marriageable age, her father gives her to a wealthy widowed friend, capitalizing on her beauty to bring in the highest bride-price he can find. Nessa is devastated, as she had begged to marry Lavi, who returned her love and saw more in her beyond her appearance. But Nessa’s betrothal leads to Lavi’s departure, compounding her grief, and she can never forget her forbidden first love.
Nessa tries to accept her fate, but after only a year of marriage, tragedy hits her new family. She is sent back to her father, who quickly finds a wealthy young man who wants to marry the most beautiful woman in Sychar. Misfortune follows Nessa as she is passed from one marriage to another—until she meets an unusual Jewish rabbi at the town’s well one afternoon, and her life is forever changed.
Jill Eileen Smith weaves a historically and biblically rich narrative as she reimagines the story of the woman at the well, bringing a fresh perspective and breathing new life into an unforgettable encounter that will inspire and encourage as much today as it did in the first century.
Christian Historical | Christian Biblical Fiction [ Baker Publishing Group, On Sale: February 17, 2026, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780800744809 / eISBN: 9781493452798 ]
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About Jill Eileen Smith
JILL EILEEN SMITH IS THE BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF MANY BIBLICAL NOVELS, INCLUDING HER FIRST SERIES THE WIVES OF KING DAVID.
Her newest book, Dawn of Grace, Mary Magdalene’s Story, released in February 2025.
After twenty years of closed doors, she has published 24 books, fiction and nonfiction. She loves Jesus and His Word and all things related to learning more about the women whom God has immortalized there.
While she loves writing and researching, she is willingly interrupted by her west-coast children and adorable grandchildren. Traveling to Israel was a highlight of her life, but traveling west is her new favorite place to visit. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading stories that take her away, playing too many games and puzzles on her phone (call it down time), or snuggling her lovable, mischievous cats Kody and Kaelee.
Her favorite verse is Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Jill has been married to the love of her life for 48 years and counting and lives in a quiet neighborhood in southeast Michigan.
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