Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
38. as the scripture hath said ] This phrase undoubtedly refers to the words that follow: but inasmuch as no such text is found in Scripture, some have tried to force the phrase into connexion with what precedes, as if the meaning were ‘He that believeth on me in the way that Scripture prescribes.’ Although the exact words are not found in Scripture there are various texts of similar import: Isa 44:3; Isa 58:11; Zec 13:1; Zec 14:8, &c. But none of them contain the very remarkable expression ‘out of his belly.’
rivers of living water ] In the Greek ‘rivers’ stands first with strong emphasis; rivers out of his belly shall flow, (rivers) of living water, in marked contrast to the ewer of water poured each day during the Feast. ‘He that believeth on me’ is of course a stage far in advance of ‘if any one thirst.’ A man may thirst for spiritual satisfaction, and yet not end in believing on Christ. But the believer cannot end in satisfying his own thirst; he at once becomes a fount whence others may derive refreshment. Whether he wills to be a teacher or no, the true Christian cannot fail to impart the spirit of Christianity to others.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that believeth on me – He that acknowledges me as the Messiah, and trusts in me for salvation.
As the scripture hath said – This is a difficult expression, from the fact that no such expression as follows is to be found literally in the Old Testament. Some have proposed to connect it with what precedes – He that believeth on me, as the Old Testament has commanded or required – but to this there are many objections. The natural and obvious meaning here is, doubtless, the true one; and Jesus probably intended to say, not that there was any particular place in the Old Testament that affirmed this in so many words, but that this was the substance of what the Scriptures taught, or this was the spirit of their declarations. Hence, the Syriac translates it in the plural – the Scriptures. Probably there is a reference more particularly to Isa 58:11, than to any other single passage: Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. See also Isa 44:3-4; Joe 3:18.
Out of his belly – Out of his midst, or out of his heart. The word belly is often put for the midst of a thing, the center, and the heart, Mat 12:40. It means here that from the man shall flow; that is, his piety shall be of such a nature that it will extend its blessings to others. It shall be like a running fountain – perhaps in allusion to statues or ornamented reservoirs in gardens. in which pipes were placed from which water was continually flowing. The Jews used the same figure: His two reins are like fountains of water, from which the law flows. And again: When a man turns himself to the Lord, he shall be as a fountain filled with living water, and his streams shall flow to all the nations and tribes of men (Kuinoel).
Rivers – This word is used to express abundance, or a full supply. It means here that those who are Christians shall diffuse large, and liberal, and constant blessings on their fellow-men; or, as Jesus immediately explains it, that they shall be the instruments by which the Holy Spirit shall be poured down on the world.
Living water – Fountains, ever-flowing streams. That is, the gospel shall be constant and life-giving in its blessings. We learn here:
1.That it is the nature of Christian piety to be diffusive.
2.That no man can believe on Jesus who does not desire that others should also, and who will not seek it.
3.That the desire is large and liberal – that the Christian desires the salvation of all the world.
4.That the faith of the believer is to be connected with the influence of the Holy Spirit, and in that way Christians are to be like rivers of living water.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 38. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said] He who receives me as the Messiah, according to what the Scripture has said concerning me; my person, birth, conduct, preaching, and miracles, being compared with what is written there as ascertaining the true Messiah. Out of his belly-from his heart and soul; for in his soul shall this Spirit dwell.
Living water.] As a true spring is ever supplied with water from the great deep, with which it has communication, so shall the soul of the genuine believer be supplied with light, life, love, and liberty, and all the other graces of the indwelling Spirit, from the indwelling Christ. The Jews frequently compare the gifts and influences of the Holy Spirit to water in general-to rain, fountains, wells, rivers, c., c. The Scriptures abound in this metaphor. Ps 36:8, Ps 36:9; Isa 44:3; Isa 44:4; Joe 2:23.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have had frequent occasion to open the term of believing on Christ. It may be doubted, whether those words,
as the Scripture hath said, be to be referred to the first or latter part of the text. If to the former, they are words expressive of that faith to which the following promise is made, which is not any assent, or slighty credit given to the word; but such a faith as the Scripture hath spoken of, as that faith which is justifying and saving.
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water; the general sense of the promises, that his soul shall abound with all saving and comfortable influences of saving grace.
The belly signifieth the heart, that part of man which is called the heart being in the belly. So Job 15:35; Psa 40:8.
The flowing of rivers of water, signifieth the plenty of spiritual influences with which believers shall be supplied; whether joy, knowledge, spiritual gifts, or graces. If any ask, where the Scripture speaketh this? I answer, in all those promises we meet with in the Old Testament, about pouring out the Spirit.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
38. as the scripture hath saidThesewords belong to what follows, “Out of his belly, as thescripture hath said, shall flow,” c. referring not to anyparticular passage, but to such as Isa 58:11Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8;Eze 47:1-12; in most ofwhich the idea is that of waters issuing from beneath the temple, towhich our Lord compares Himself and those who believe in Him.
out of his bellythatis, his inner man, his soul, as in Pr20:27.
rivers of living water(Seeon Joh 4:13). It refersprimarily to the copiousness, but indirectly also to thediffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that believeth on me,…. Which explains what is meant by coming to Christ, and drinking; for these acts are no other than for a man to go out of himself to Christ, and live by faith on him, and his grace. To which what follows is a great encouragement;
as the Scripture hath said: some refer these words to the preceding clause concerning believing in Christ, which the writings of the Old Testament speak of, as in De 18:15, and the sense is, that he that believes on Christ, the object of faith the Scripture points at, and in him, as that directs and requires; that believes in him as the mighty God, and as the prophet, priest, and King, and as the only foundation of the church, and lives by faith upon him, as just men do, then
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, though rather they belong to what follows; and do not design any particular place of Scripture; for no such one is to be found, where the following passage is expressed in so many words; but all those Scriptures which speak of grace, under the metaphors of water, and abundance of water, as rivers and floods of water, and of the effusion of the Holy Spirit, under such figurative expressions, such as
Isa 41:17. Hence the Syriac version reads in the plural number, “as the Scriptures hath said”; referring to more than one: “out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”; the grace of the Spirit of God is signified by water, because it is of a cleansing and purifying nature, as faith and hope are, having to do with the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin; and because it fructifies and causes the saints, as trees of righteousness, to grow, and bring forth fruit; and especially because it is cooling to those who are scorched with the heat of a fiery law, and very refreshing to thirsty souls: and it is called “living” water, because by it dead sinners are quickened, drooping saints are revived, and comforted; spiritual life in them is maintained and supported, and it springs up to, and issues in eternal life: and it is expressed by “rivers” of living water, because of the abundance of it in regeneration, justification, and pardon; it is grace for grace, abundance of grace believers receive from Christ; and from him, in whom those large measures of grace are, they “flow out” again, even “out of his belly”: from within him, out of his heart, the seat of it, by his lips, both in prayer to God, and in conversation with the saints, to whom he communicates his rich experiences of grace, to their comfort, and the glory of God: for grace is of a diffusive and communicative nature; out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh: and also it flows out by his life and conversation, which is sober, righteous, and godly; and this the grace of God teaches and influences: and this grace, as it is permanent and lasting itself, even perpetual, and always abiding; so it continues to flow, and to show itself in its acts and effects, in one way or another. The Jews ought not to find fault with Christ’s using such expressions, mystically understood, since they, comparing Moses and the Messiah together, say,
“as the first Redeemer caused a well to spring up, so the last Redeemer shall cause waters to spring up, according to Joe 3:18 e.”
e Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He that believeth on me ( ). Nominative absolute as is not uncommon.
The scripture ( ). No precise passage can be quoted, though similar idea in several (Isa 55:1; Isa 58:11; Zech 13:1; Zech 14:8; Ezek 47:1; Joel 3:18). Chrysostom confines it to Isa 28:16 by punctuation (only the nominative absolute as the Scripture).
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water ( ). Some ancient Western writers connect of verse 37 with in verse 38. By this arrangement (his) with is made to refer to Christ, not to the believer. Burney argues that is a mistranslation of the Aramaic (fountain, not belly) and that the reference is to Eze 47:1. C.C. Torrey refers to Zec 14:8. But the Eastern writers refer (his) to the believer who not only quenches in Christ his own thirst, but becomes a source of new streams for others (Joh 4:14). It is a difficult question and Westcott finally changed his view and held to refer to Christ. is future active indicative of , old verb, to flow, here only in the N.T.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The scripture hath said. There is no exactly corresponding passage, but the quotation harmonizes with the general tenor of several passages, as Isa 55:1; Isa 58:11; Zec 13:1; Zec 14:8; Eze 47:1; Joe 3:18. Belly [] . The word is often used in the Old Testament for the innermost part of a man, the soul or heart. See Job 14:35; Job 32:19; Pro 18:8; Pro 20:27, 30. The rite of drawing and pouring out the water pointed back to the smitten rock in the desert. In Exo 17:6, “there shall come water out of it,” is literally, “there shall come water from within him.” The word belly here means the inmost heart of the believer, which pours forth spiritual refreshment. Compare 1Co 10:4; Joh 4:14.
Shall flow [] . The word occurs only here in the New Testament.
Rivers. A type of abundance. Compare Num 20:11.
Living water. Compare Joh 4:10.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1 ) “He that believeth on me,” (ho pisteuon eis eme) “The one who trusts in me,” for satisfaction of his thirst, Isa 55:1-3.
2) “As the scripture hath said,” (kathos ei pen he grapse) “Just as the scripture has said,” as the scriptures have directed, Pro 1:20-31; Pro 3:5-6; Isa 45:18; Isa 45:22; Isa 55:6-7; Psa 145:18-19.
3) “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (ptamoi ek tes koilias autou hreusousin hudatos zontos) ”Out of and away from his belly will flow rivers of living water,” out of the center of His affections of life, from His spiritual nature, after one has believed. The spirit that is given in the new birth will work forever, flow forever, for He is once received to abide in the believer forever, Joh 3:6; Joh 6:63; Joh 14:16-17; Joh 4:13; Rom 5:5.
From that little church group in the upper room, when they had been empowered, (Act 1:8; Act 1:15; Act 2:1-4) there flowed rivers of living water, to cause the thirst of 3,000 souls to be quenched on Pentecost, as Peter preached the Word.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
38. He who believeth in me. He now points out the manner of coming, which is, that we must approach, not with the feet, but by faith; or rather, to come is nothing else than to believe, at least, if you define accurately the word believe; as we have already said that we believe in Christ, when we embrace him as he is held out to us in the Gospel, full of power, wisdom, righteousness, purity, life, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Besides, he now confirms more plainly and fully the promise which we lately mentioned; for he shows that he has a rich abundance to satisfy us to the full.
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. The metaphor appears, no doubt, to be somewhat harsh, when he says that rivers of living water shall flow out of the belly of believers; but there can be no doubt as to the meaning, that they who believe shall suffer no want of spiritual blessings. He calls it living water, the fountain of which never grows dry, nor ceases to flow continually. As to the word rivers being in the plural number, I interpret it as denoting the diversified graces of the Spirit, which are necessary for the spiritual life of the soul. In short, the perpetuity, as well as the abundance, of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, (195) is here promised to us. Some understand the saying — that waters flow out of the belly of believers — to mean, that he to whom the Spirit has been given makes a part to flow to his brethren, as there ought to be mutual communication between us. But I consider it to be a simpler meaning, that whosoever shall believe in Christ shall have a fountain of life springing up, as it were, in himself, as Christ said formerly,
He who shall drink of this water shall never thirst, (Joh 4:14😉
for while ordinary drinking quenches thirst only for a short time, Christ says that by faith we draw the Spirit, that he may become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life
Still he does not say that, on the first day, believers are so fully satisfied with Christ, that ever afterwards they neither hunger nor thirst; but, on the contrary, the enjoyment of Christ kindles a new desire of him. But the meaning is, that the Holy Spirit is like a living and continually flowing fountain in believers; as Paul also declares that he is life in us, (Rom 8:10,) though we still carry about, in the remains of sin, the cause of death. And, indeed, as every one partakes of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, according to the measure of his faith, we cannot possess a perfect fullness of them in the present life. But believers, while they make progress in faith, continually aspire to fresh additions of the Spirit, so that the first-fruits which they have tasted carry them forward to perpetuity of life. But we are also reminded by it, how small is the capacity of our faith, since the graces of the Spirit scarcely come into us by drops, which would flow like rivers, if we gave due admission to Christ; that is, if faith made us capable of receiving him.
As the Scripture saith. Some confine this to the former clause, and others to the latter clause; for my own part, I extend it to the entire scope of the discourse. Besides, Christ does not here, in my opinion, point out any particular passage of Scripture, but produces a testimony drawn from the ordinary doctrine of the Prophets. For whenever the Lord, promising an abundance of his Spirit, compares it to living waters, he looks principally to the kingdom of Christ, to which he directs the minds of believers. All the predictions of living waters, therefore, have their fulfillment in Christ, because he alone hath opened and displayed the hidden treasures of God. The reason why the graces of the Spirit are poured out on him is,
that we may all draw out of his fullness, (Joh 1:16.)
Those persons, therefore, whom Christ so kindly and graciously calls, and who wander in every direction, deserve to perish miserably.
(195) “ Des dons et graces du Sainct Esprit.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(38) There can be little doubt that our English version rightly gives the meaning of the original here; though representatives of both the earliest and the latest schools of interpretation have tried so to read the verse as to avoid its difficulties. Some would attach the first clause to the preceding verse, reading, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me; and let him that believeth on Me drink. Others would have us think that the words, as the Scripture hath said, belong to the clause before them, and not to that which follows, making the sense, He that believeth on Me according to the Scriptures, out of his belly (I say) shall flow rivers of living water. The reader of the English will, it is believed, feel, and the reader of the Greek will feel still more strongly, that these are attempts to avoid what it is hard to explain, and that while they miss the difficulty they also miss the meaning.
He that believeth on me . . .We have here an advance on the thought, If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink. That represented the satisfaction of the individual mind. This teaches the fuller truth that every one in living communion with Christ becomes himself the centre of spiritual influence. There is in him a power of life which, when quickened by faith, flows forth as a river, carrying life and refreshment to others. No spirit grasps a great truth which satisfies its own yearnings as the waters of the fountain slake physical thirst, without longing to send it forth to others who are seeking what he himself had sought. There is in him a river whose waters no barrier can confine. This is the spirit of the prophet and the evangelist, of the martyr and the missionary. It is the spirit of every great teacher. It is the link which binds men together and makes the life of every Christian approach the life of Christ, for he lives not for himself but for the world.
The exact words Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, are not found in any part of the Canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament, and yet Christ Himself utters them with the formula of quotation. This will be a difficulty only to those who value letter and syllable above spirit and substance. It may be that the words which our Lord actually uttered in the current language of Jerusalem were nearer to the very words of some passage in the Old Testament than they seem to be in the Greek form in which St. John has preserved them to us. But it is instructive that the thought is that which our Lord Himself, or St. John as representing Him, considers as the essence of the quotation. The thought meets us again and again in the Old Testament. See the following passages: Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Psa. 114:8; Isa. 44:3; Isa. 55:1; Isa. 58:11; Joe. 2:23; Joe. 3:18; Eze. 47:1; Eze. 47:12; Zec. 13:1; Zec. 14:8.
This frequent reference to the refreshment and life-giving power of water is the more natural in the East, where drought is a fearful evil ever to be guarded against, and a well of water a blessing always sought for as the first necessity of life.
The abundance is suggested by the contrast between the small quantity poured out in the Temple and the streams which flowed from the rock struck in the wilderness. The vessel they carried contained but three logs, or about a quart, of water, brought from the tank of Siloam. This was poured through a perforated silver bowl. In the spiritual interpretation the water shall not be carried to the Temple, for every believer shall be a temple of the Holy Ghost and a source of life; it shall not be a limited quantity in vessels of gold and silver, but shall be as rivers bursting forth in their strength and fulness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
38. Out of his belly As the priest poured the water from the belly of the golden pitcher. Thus shall the holy power go forth from the person of every believer to convince and convert the world. But as the next verse interprets the water to be the Spirit, is it biblical to say that the Holy Spirit flows forth from the believer? In view of this objection Stier has, with much plausibility, so punctuated the text as to give the following meaning: “If any man thirst let him come unto me; and let him drink that believeth in me; as the Scripture saith, Out of his belly shall flow rivers,” etc. The flowing forth of the rivers would by this interpretation be from the person of Christ himself. The term belly, or bowels, would then be borrowed not from the pitcher but from the mountain. The mountain is the base of the temple, and so the water flows forth from the temple as the Spirit flows forth from the body of Christ, the holy living temple.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joh 7:38 . The is brought about by faith; hence the statement progresses : , . . .
.] is simply the formula of quotation, and cannot belong to , as if it denoted a faith which is conformable to Scripture (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigabenus, Calovius, and most); ., on the contrary, is the nominative absolute (see on Joh 6:39 ), and , . . ., belongs to the following , etc., the words which are described as a declaration of Scripture . There is no exactly corresponding passage, indeed, in Scripture; it is simply a free quotation harmonizing in thought with parts of various passages, especially Isa 44:3 ; Isa 55:1 ; Isa 58:11 (comp. also Eze 47:1 ; Eze 47:12 ; Zec 13:1 ; Zec 14:8 ; Joe 3:1 ; Joe 3:20 ; but not Son 4:12 ; Son 4:15 ). Godet refers to the account of the rock in the wilderness, Exo 17:6 , Num 20:11 ; but this answers neither to the thing itself (for the subject is the person drinking) nor to the words. To think in particular of those passages in which mention is made of a stream flowing from the temple mount, the believer being represented as a living temple (Olshausen), is a gloss unwarranted by the context, and presents an inappropriate comparison ( ). This last is also in answer to Gieseler (in the Stud. u. Krit . 1829, p. 138 f.), whom Lange, L. J . II. p. 945, follows. To imagine some apocryphal or lost canonical saying (Whiston, Semler, Paulus; comp. also Weizscker, p. 518; Bleek, p. 234, and in the Stud. u. Krit . 1853, p. 331), or, as Ewald does, a fragment of Proverbs no longer extant, or of some such similar book, is too bold and unnecessary, considering the freedom with whieh passages of Scripture are quoted and combined, and the absence of any other certain trace in the discourses of Jesus of extra-canonical quotations, or of canonical quotations not now to be found in the O. T.; although, indeed, the characteristic itself occurs in none of the above-named places, which is certainly surprising, and not to be explained by an inappropriate reference to Son 7:3 (Hengstenberg). But this expression, “ out of his body ” considering the connection of the metaphor, is very natural; the water which he drinks becomes in his body a spring from which streams of living water flow, i.e. the divine grace and truth which the believer has received out of Christ’s fulness into his inner life, does not remain shut up within, but will communicate itself in abundant measure as a life-giving stream to others , and thus the new divine life overflows from one individual on to others. As represented in the metaphor, these take their rise from the water which has been drunk and is in the , and flow forth therefrom in an oral effusion; [270] for the effect referred to takes plaee in an outward direction by an inspired oral communication of one’s own experience of God’s grace and truth ( , , 2Co 4:13 ). The mutual and inspired intercourse of Christians from Pentecost downwards, the speaking in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, the mutual edification in Christian assemblies by means of the charismata even to the speaking with tongues, the entire work of the apostles, of a Stephen and so on, furnish an abundant historical commentary upon this text. It is clear, accordingly, that does not, as is usually supposed, denote the inner man, man’s heart (Pro 20:27 ; Sir 19:12 ; Sir 51:21 ; LXX. Psa 40:9 , following A.; comp. the Latin viscera ), but must be left in its literal meaning “ belly ” in conformity with the metaphor which determines the expression. [271] The flowing forth of the water, moreover, is not to be understood as something operating upon the subject himself only (B. Crusius: “his whole soul, from its very depth, shall have a continual quickening and satisfaction,” comp. Maier), but as describing an efficacy in an outward direction , as . . shows, and therefore is not the same as the similar passage, chap. Joh 4:14 . If we join . with inverts, , must refer to Christ; and this is the meaning that we get: “He that thirsteth, let him come to me; and he that believeth in me, let him drink of me: for to me refers what the Scripture hath said concerning a river which shall flow forth from Jehovah in the time of the Messiah.” So Hahn, Theol. d. N. T . I. p. 229 f., and Gess, Pers. Chr . p. 166. But against this it is decisive, first, that he who believes on Jesus has already drunk of Him (Joh 6:35 ), and the call to come and drink must apply not to the believer, but to the thirsty; and secondly, that the expression would be unnecessary and unmeaning, if it referred to Jesus, and not to him who has performed the (Nonnus, ).
, as in Joh 4:10 ; , , , Euthymius Zigabenus.
Observe further the emphatically taking the lead and standing apart; “not in spoonfuls, nor with a pipe and tap, but in full streams,” Luther.
[270] Comp. , Mat 13:35 .
[271] Already Chrysostom and his followers took as equivalent to ; a confounding of the metaphor with its import. Hofmann’s objection ( Schriftbew . II. 2, p. 13), “that the water here meant does not go into the belly at all,” rests solely upon the same confusion of the figure with its meaning. According to the figure, it conies into the because it is drunk , and this drinking is in like manner figurative . When Hofmann finds indicated in the word even a springing place of the Holy Spirit within the body , he cannot get rid of the idea of something withia the body as being implied in , because the text itself presents this figure as being in harmony with that of the drinking; unless, indeed, the concrete expression is to give way to an exegetical prudery foreign to the text itself, and is to be blotted out at pleasure. in no passage of the N. T. means anything else than body, belly . Strangely out of keeping with the unity of the figure, Lange, following Bengel (comp. also Weizscker), now finds in an allusion to the belly of the golden pitcher (see on ver. 37), and Godet to the inner hollow of the rock whence the water flowed, so that . . corresponds with , Exo 17:6 . So inventive is the longing after types!
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Ver. 38. See Trapp on “ Joh 7:37 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joh 7:38 . . [The nominative absolute is common.] No Scripture gives the words verbatim . Isa 58:11 has: “The Lord shall satisfy thy soul in drought: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not”. Cf. Joh 4:14 . The words seem to intimate that the believer shall not only have his own thirst quenched, but shall be a source of new streams for the good of others (O. Holtzmann). A remarkably analogous saying is quoted by Schoettgen from the Talmud: “Quando homo se convertit ad Dominum suum, tanquam fons aquis vivis impletur, et fluenta ejus egrediuntur ad omnis generis homines et ad omnes tribus”. At the same time it is not easy to see the relevancy of the saying if this meaning be attached to it, and the saying of Joh 4:14 is so similar that it seems preferable to understand it in the same sense, of the inseparableness and inwardness of the living water. Those who advocate the other meaning can certainly find confirmation for their view in the explanation added by John.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
He that = that. Read this in connection with the previous verse: “let him drink that believeth on Me”.
as = according as.
hath said = hath said [concerning Me]. App-107.
out of. Greek. ek. App-104. as in verses: Joh 7:41, Joh 7:52. Not the same word as in Joh 7:42.
His belly. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6, for the whole person, for emphasis = Himself. Here referring to Messiah (the Giver), not to the believer. He is, and will be, the Source of all spiritual blessing “as the Scripture hath said”: Isa 12:3; Isa 55:1; Isa 58:11. Eze 47:1. Joe 3:18. Zec 13:1; Zec 14:8. See App-107.
His. Referring not to the believer (the receiver), but to the Lord (the Giver).
shall flow. Greek. rheo. Occurs only here in N.T. rivers. This is the emphatic word, by the Figure of speech Hyperbaton (App-6), implying abundance. See Num 20:11. 1Co 10:4,
living. See note on Joh 4:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 7:38. , He that believeth on Me) To believe is not parallel to the verb, to thirst, but to the verb, to come; ch. Joh 6:35. To this refer the they that believe of the following verse.- , as the Scripture hath said) Scripture hath many things as to the promise of the Holy Spirit, under the figure of water: Isa 12:3, Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation; Isa 55:13, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters-Incline your ear and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live; Eze 47:1, etc., Behold waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; Joh 7:9, Every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; Joe 2:23, Rejoice in the Lord your God; for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain; which Jesus in this passage expresses in words adapted to the present occasion. But most especially pertinent to this passage is that one of Zec 14:8, , …, Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: for that very chapter of Zechariah had been read in public, as the Haphtara [portion selected for the Lesson], on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which Jesus, when He had come in the middle of the time of the feast, on the last day of it repeats at Jerusalem. He had not been present at the reading on the first day: He had not been taught letters, Joh 7:15, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? therefore His quotation of the Lesson read ought to have had the more effect on His hearers.-, belly) , the inmost recess, most capacious and most fruitful. The allusion is to the large jars in which, on the last day of that feast, water used to be borne from the fountain Siloah through the city to the sanctuary; for they had a large belly-like interior.-, His) Messiahs. This is the fountain out of whose abundant flow believers receive, Joh 7:39.- ) , Zech. as quoted above.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 7:38
Joh 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water.-The Holy Spirit would come as the representative of God on earth after his ascension to his Father and this he foretells under this figure. [Believing is equal to coming in verse 37, showing that faith is the means that brings us to Christ. It is a live, active faith; not a dead or inactive one.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
He that: Deu 18:15
out: Joh 4:14, Job 32:18, Job 32:19, Pro 10:11, Pro 18:4, Isa 12:3, Isa 44:3, Isa 58:11, Isa 59:21, Eze 47:1-12, Zec 14:8, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23, Eph 5:9
Reciprocal: Gen 26:19 – springing water Exo 17:6 – that the people Num 19:17 – running water shall be put thereto Num 29:35 – eighth day Psa 78:15 – General Pro 22:18 – within thee Son 4:15 – a well Isa 30:25 – upon every high Isa 35:7 – the parched Isa 55:1 – every Jer 17:13 – forsaken Eze 3:3 – and fill Mar 16:16 – that believeth and Luk 3:16 – he shall Luk 6:21 – for ye shall be Luk 6:45 – good man Joh 5:26 – so hath Joh 5:40 – that Joh 6:35 – never hunger Joh 6:51 – living Act 2:33 – having Act 16:31 – Believe Act 26:18 – faith Rom 4:11 – father Rom 8:2 – Spirit Rom 8:11 – dwelleth 2Co 13:14 – the communion Gal 3:8 – the scripture 1Pe 2:6 – it 1Jo 5:6 – by water and Rev 7:17 – shall lead Rev 21:6 – I will Rev 22:1 – A pure
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
The original word for belly is defined by Thayer in this place, “The innermost part of a man, the soul, heart, as the seat of thought, feeling, choice.” Robinson defines it virtually in the same way. The pronoun his refers both to Christ and to anyone who accepts the living water that he offers. Christ is the source of living water, and if a man opens his heart or inner being (here translated belly), that stream of living water will enter therein. Then such a man in turn will become a source of that, precious water, supplying both himself and those he influences, with that which will contribute to his spiritual life and growth. This verse is the same in thought as the teaching of Jesus which he gave the woman of Samaria at the well. (See the comments on that instance in chapter 4:14.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
[Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.] To this offering of water, perhaps, our Saviour’s words may have some respect; for it was only at this feast that it was used, and none other. You have the manner of this service described in the place above quoted, to this purpose:
After what manner is this offering of water? “They filled a golden phial containing three logs out of Siloam. When they came to the water gate” [a gate of the Temple so called, as some would have it, because that water which was fetched from Siloam was brought through it], “they sounded their trumpets and sang. Then a priest goes up by the ascent of the altar, and turns to the left. There were two silver vessels, one with water, the other with wine: he pours some of the water into the wine, and some of the wine into the water, and so performs the service.”
“R. Judah saith, They offer one log every of those eight days: and they say to him that offered it, ‘Lift up thy hand’: for upon a certain time there was one that offered it upon his feet” [Gemar. He was a Sadducee. Gloss: The Sadducees do not approve the offering of water], “and the whole congregation pelted him with their citrons. That day a horn of the altar was broke.”
“Whoever hath not seen the rejoicing that was upon the drawing of this water, hath never seen any rejoicing at all.”
This offering of water, they say, was a tradition given at mount Sinai: and that the prophet Jonah was inspired by the Holy Ghost upon this offering of water.
If you ask what foundation this usage hath, Rambam will tell us, “There are some kind of remote hints of it in the law. However, those that will not believe the traditional law, will not believe this article about the sacrifice of water.”
I. They bring for it the authority of the prophet Isaiah, the house of drawing; for it is written, “With joy shall ye draw water,” etc. Isa 12:3.
This rejoicing (which we have described before) they called the rejoicing of the law; or for the law; for by waters they often understand the law; Isa 55:1; and several other places; and from thence the rejoicing for these waters.
II. But they add moreover, that this drawing and offering of water signifies the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
“Why do they call it the house of drawing? Because thence they draw the Holy Spirit.” Gloss in Succah; ubi supr.: “In the Jerusalem Talmud it is expounded, that they draw there the Holy Spirit, for a divine breathing is upon the man through joy.”
Another Gloss: “The flute also sounded for increase of the joy.” Drawing of water, therefore, took its rise from the words of Isaiah: they rejoiced over the waters as a symbol and figure of the law; and they looked for the holy Spirit upon this joy of theirs.
III. But still they add further: “Why doth the law command, saying, Offer ye water on the feast of Tabernacles? The holy blessed God saith, Offer ye waters before me on the feast of Tabernacles, that the rains of the year may be blessed to you.” For they had an opinion, that God, at that feast, decreed and determined on the rains that should fall the following year. Hence that in the place before mentioned, “In the feast of Tabernacles it is determined concerning the waters.”
And now let us reflect upon this passage of our Saviour, “He that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” They agree with what he had said before to the Samaritan woman, Joh 4:14; and both expressions are upon the occasion of drawing of water.
The Jews acknowledge that the latter Redeemer is to procure water for them, as their former redeemer Moses had done. But as to the true meaning of this, they are very blind and ignorant, and might be better taught by the Messiah here, if they had any mind to learn.
I. Our Saviour calls them to a belief in him from their own boast and glorying in the law: and therefore I rather think those words, as the Scripture hath said; should relate to the foregoing clause, “Whosoever believeth in me, as the Scripture hath spoken about believing, Isa 28:16; ‘I lay in Sion for a foundation a tried stone: he that believeth,’ etc.: Hab 2:4. ‘The just shall live by his faith.’ ” And the Jews themselves confess, that six hundred and thirteen precepts of the law may all be reduced to this, “The just shall live by faith”; and to that of Amo 5:6; “Seek the Lord, and ye shall live.”
II. Let these words, then, of our Saviour be set in opposition to this right and usage in the feast of Tabernacles of which we have been speaking: “Have you such wonderful rejoicing at drawing a little water from Siloam? He that believes in me, whole rivers of living waters shall flow out of his own belly. Do you think the waters mentioned in the prophets do signify the law? They do indeed denote the Holy Spirit, which the Messiah will dispense to those that believe in him: and do you expect the Holy Spirit from the law, or from your rejoicing in the law? The Holy Spirit is of faith, and not of the law,” Gal 3:2.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 7:38. He that believeth in me, as the scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. The words of Joh 7:37 remind us of the people who drank of the spiritual rock that followed them (1Co 10:4), the miracle commemorated in the pouring of the water from Siloam; the last words (shall flow rivers) resemble more the promise of Isa 12:3, amplified in all its parts. There is nothing incongruous in this union of promises: Isa 44:3 includes both, I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. This is not the first time that we have found coming to Jesus and believing in Him thus brought together; see the note on chap. Joh 6:35. Out of the heart of him that thus cometh, thus believeth in Jesus, shall flow rivers of living water. Not only shall he receive what his thirst demands and be satisfied, but he himself shall become the source of a streamnay riversof living waters. The water shall bring life to him: the water flowing out of his heart shall bring life wherever it comes. All this is the gift of Jesus, who is set forth as the One Source of the water of Life. But what is meant by as the Scripture said? Many passages of the Old Testament contain similar imagery, and some of these have been already quoted; but one only appears really to accord with the figure of this verse, viz. the vision of Ezekiel 47. The prophet saw a stream of living water issuing from the temple, and expanding into a river whose waters brought life wherever they flowed. The temple prefigured Christ (chap. Joh 2:21); the water of life is the gift of the Holy Ghost, pre-eminently Christs gift (chap. Joh 4:14). The Lord Himself received into the believers heart brings the gift of the living water; and from Him, thus abiding in the heart, flows the river of the water of life.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here again Christ alludes to a Jewish custom; the Jews were wont at fountains to build great vessels of stone, and in the midst or belly of them to have pipes, through which the water passes. “Now, says Christ, Thus shall it be with every one that believeth on me; he shall be abundantly filled with the spirit of God, in all the sanctifying and saving graces of it.” Christ and his Holy Spirit are a living fountain, whose waters never fail; they are not a water-brook, but a spring of waters: we shall never miss of the waters of life, if we seek unto and wait upon Christ for them. For if we believe on him out of our belly shall flow rivers of living waters, sufficient for ourselves, and wherewith to refresh others.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Joh 7:38-39. He that believeth on me With a living faith, and with his heart unto righteousness; as the Scripture hath said As God in the Scriptures hath promised and attested in many places; out of his belly From within him, from his mind and heart; shall flow rivers of living water He shall receive spiritual blessings, or communications of divine grace, in so great an abundance, that he shall not only be refreshed and comforted himself, but shall be instrumental in refreshing and comforting others. The expression, Out of his belly shall flow rivers, is used with allusion to receptacles round springs, out of which great quantities of water flow by pipes: and the figure therefore signifies the plenitude of spiritual gifts and graces to be possessed by believers, and the happy effects which they should produce in the world. Thus the apostles and first messengers of Christ were both watered themselves and enabled to water others, Gentiles as well as Jews, not with small streams, but with large rivers of divine knowledge and grace, so that the countries, which till then had been barren, became exceeding fruitful in holiness and righteousness. Accordingly the evangelist adds, by way of explication, this spake he of the Spirit Of the Holy Spirits gifts and graces; which they who believed on him should receive , were about to receive, namely, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, according to his promise, Joh 14:16; and Joh 16:7. The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit had, in a great measure, ceased since the death of Zechariah and Malachi. They had been faintly manifested in the approach of the Messiah, as to Zechariah and Elizabeth, to Simeon and Anna, and especially to John the Baptist, who is said to have been filled with the Holy Ghost from his mothers womb; but the full effusion of these gifts, foretold by Isaiah and Joel, took not place till after the ascension of Christ, and was yet to come. On the day of pentecost, and not before, these extraordinary gifts were communicated to the apostles, evangelists, and many other believers, to fit them for converting the world. The universality, however, of the invitation and promise here given, makes it evident that, on this occasion, our Lord had the ordinary influences of the Spirit in his eye, which the evangelists remark, that the Holy Ghost was not yet given, will not exclude; because, even these might at that time be said not to have been given, as they had been given but sparingly, in comparison of the plentiful distribution which was to be made of them to all believers after Christs ascension. Accordingly, the ordinary influences of the Spirit are often in Scripture represented as the consequences and reward of faith, Gal 3:14; Eph 1:12-14.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 38
Shall flow, &c.; an image very similar to that expressed John 4:14.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
7:38 He that believeth on me, as the {k} scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(k) The scripture being referred to is not found anywhere word for word, but rather Christ seems to be referring to many different places where mention is made of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; see Joe 2:28-29; Isa 44:3 and especially Isa 55:1-13 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Some commentators believed that the end of Jesus’ statement did not occur at the end of this verse but after "Me." [Note: E.g., Brown, 1:321.] They saw Jesus saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me, and drink he who believes in Me." This view results in the antecedent of "his innermost being" or "him" being Jesus rather than the believer. This view makes Jesus the source of the living water, which is biblical. However the punctuation in the NASB and NIV probably represents the better translation. [Note: See Carson, The Gospel . . ., pp. 323-25.]
The antecedent of "his innermost being" or "him" is probably the believer rather than Jesus. This does not mean that Jesus was saying that the believer was the source of the living water. The living water is a reference to the Holy Spirit elsewhere in John, and it is Jesus who pours out the Spirit as living water (Joh 4:14). Jesus spoke elsewhere of the living water welling up within the believer (Joh 4:14). The idea is not that the Spirit will flow out of the believer to other believers. We are not the source of the Spirit for others. It is rather that the Spirit from Jesus wells up within each believer and gives him or her satisfying spiritual refreshment. Water satisfies thirst and produces fruitfulness, and similarly the Spirit satisfies the inner person and enables us to bear fruit. The Greek expression is ek tes koilias autou (lit. from within his belly). The belly here pictures the center of the believer’s personality. It may imply the womb, the sphere of generation. [Note: Tasker, p. 109.]
There is no specific passage in the Old Testament that contains the same words that Jesus mentioned here. Consequently He must have been summarizing the teaching of the Old Testament (cf. Exo 16:4; Exodus 17; Numbers 20; Neh 8:5-18; Psa 78:15-16; Isa 32:15; Isa 44:3; Eze 39:29; Joe 2:28-32; Zec 14:8). One writer believed Jesus had Eze 47:1-11 in view. [Note: Zane C. Hodges, "Rivers of Living Water-John 7:37-39," Bibliotheca Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):239-48.] In these passages the ideas of the Spirit and the law sustaining God’s people as manna and water converge. Jesus claimed that He alone could provide the satisfying Spirit. This was an offer of salvation.