Is the gift of God free? The article proposes to take up the question of divine gift in an original way by combining exegetical insight into the Gospel of John with socio-anthropological contributions. After recalling the central elements of Marcel Mausss work, Essai sur le don (1925), it examines certain texts of the fourth Gospel relating to this theme in order to propose a reflection on the subject and the Maussian triple obligation of "giving-receiving-giving back".