Living Water
Living water is a biblical term which appears in both the Old and New Testaments.
In Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13, the prophet describes God as "the spring of living water", who has been forsaken by his chosen people Israel. Later, the prophet Zechariah described Jerusalem as a source of "living water", "half [flowing] east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter" (Zechariah 14:8). The Pulpit Commentary notes that the city of Jerusalem "was, as we know, abundantly supplied with water by many conduits and subterranean channels; but standing, as it does, surrounded by hills higher than itself, it is physically impossible that the waters could literally flow as stated. The description is symbolical…"[1]
In John's Gospel, the phrase is attributed to Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman whom he meets at Jacob's Well in Sychar:
- "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10).
References
- ↑ Pulpit Commentary on Zechariah 14, accessed 26 February 2016