{Thou art a Samaritan and hast a demon} (Samareit(8873) ei su
kai daimonion echeis). On the spur of the moment in their rage
and fury they can think of no meaner things to say. They know, of
course, that Jesus was not a Samaritan, but he had acted like a
Samaritan in challenging their peculiar spiritual privileges
( 4:9,39 ). The charge of having a demon was an old one by the
Pharisees ( Mt 12:24 ) and it is repeated later ( Joh 10:20 ).