LIVING WATERS
by Jeremy Chance Springfield
10/1/2023
In ancient Israel, the festival of Sukkot was the culmination of the yearly appointed times commanded in the Torah. Held in the city of Jerusalem and focused in the Temple complex, this final festival brought multitudes of people from across Israel and the whole earth to participate in a faith-filled week of worship and unbridled joy.
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Almost two-thousand years have passed since the festival of Sukkot was observed as commanded and with all the facets that had come to define it among the Jewish people. It is difficult for us now, so far removed from that context, to appreciate what it meant to be present during the most joyous time of the Biblical year. Scripture commands it to be observed in a way that would ultimately bring about a prophetically significant scene in the ministry of the Messiah.
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The activities commanded during the seven days of Sukkot are relatively minimal as listed in their Biblical source texts (Leviticus 23:34-44, Numbers 29:12-13, and Deuteronomy 16:13-16, 23-26), as this brief overview displays:
As time progressed, the role of tradition filled in the festival to provide a rich addition to the Torah’s commanded details. Jewish history has preserved ample descriptions of what being at the Temple for Sukkot would have involved for those present. The greatest emphasis about the nature of the festival, however, is that it was celebrated with extreme joy, as the record preserved in the Mishnah, Sukkah 5:1, shows.
The passage refers to the "House of Drawing"--a prominent part of the Sukkot celebration when the Temple stood. This will be explained in detail as the study progresses, but it is important to note the special tone of joy linked to celebrating Sukkot. It is an incredible event brimming to overflowing with a spiritual atmosphere welcoming His Presence and seeking the good of all. It helps to visualize what was happening in this holy environment.
The texts of the Mishnah and Talmud both address the celebration in its historical detail. Consider now several of those passages in order to appreciate the grandeur and scope of the observance of Sukkot when the Temple was standing.
Based on the information preserved in these texts, we can see that Sukkot was a season of unparalleled freedom in worship and praise. The intensity of the time is reflected in the many different acts performed by the faithful in effort to display their own joy over the One who was sustaining them at every moment. Sukkot’s joyful meaningfulness could not be overstated.
For the follower of Yeshua, the festival of Sukkot has significance in two major ways in addition to the central commandments concerning its fulfillment listed in the Torah:
For the follower of Yeshua, the festival of Sukkot has significance in two major ways in addition to the central commandments concerning its fulfillment listed in the Torah:
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1. It is almost certainly the setting of the birth of the Messiah
2. It is the setting for one of Yeshua’s most important ministry messages |
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The first one is worth its own focus, and I direct attention to my study: A TABERNACLE’S NATIVITY, for sources both Scriptural and historical suggesting why the timeframe of Sukkot is by far the likeliest candidate out of all potential options for when Yeshua was born.
The second Sukkot situation in the New Testament is the attention of this study—an event recorded about that festival which will help us appreciate Yeshua’s witness at the Temple. Almost the entirety of John chapter 7, and all of chapters 8-9, are devoted to what happened when Yeshua obeyed the commandment to observe Sukkot. John 7:2 says it was Sukkot.
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And the feast of Tabernacles of the Yihudaye drew near. |
Yeshua attended the Temple celebration of Sukkot “Tabernacles,” speaking to the crowds in the vibrant and busy area known as the “Treasury,” which was located in the Court of Women.
The passages quoted from the Mishnah and Talmud above mentioned the central locale of the Court of Women as being where so much of the festival activity occurred. John 8:20, coming after most of Yeshua’s words in the Temple were already spoken, informs us that His presence there was indeed in that very location that was filled with festival pilgrims.
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These words he spoke [at] the House of the Treasury, while he taught in the Temple, and no man seized him, for his hour had not yet arrived.
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His words near the Treasury were at first surprising and intriguing, but as He continued to speak, more opposition arose around Him. This study, however, is focusing on a brief moment among all of that in effort to show how He crafted the message of His ministry to address the context of Sukkot in a beautiful way.
This is seen in John 7:37-38.
This is seen in John 7:37-38.
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37 Yet, on the Great Day, that is the last of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, and said, “If a man thirsts, he shall come towards me, and shall drink!
38 All who trust in me, as the Scriptures have said: ‘Rivers of living waters shall flow from his belly.’” |
Yeshua shouted this unexpected command in the bustle of the courtyard to everyone whose minds were focused on festival matters. His words speak to the festival in a compelling manner. In order to appreciate that reality, let us look closer at what He said. He proclaims anyone who is thirsty should come to Him for a drink. This is by no means a physical offer to quench their physical thirst. He also mentions the concept of MAYA CHAYE “living waters.” This is the Aramaic cognate of the Hebrew MAYIM CHAYIM, and is a Biblical idiom describing “flowing water.” In itself, it refers just to physical water in a moving state.
His words are intended as a spiritually fueled command to come to Him for a much deeper purpose than to quench a physical thirst. The second statement He gave helps to prove this assertion. The meaning of those words is not explicitly given, but can be discovered based on the nature of where He derived them:
‘Rivers of living waters shall flow from his belly.’
This quote has been italicized in my translation to indicate that it has no direct reference in the Hebrew Scriptures. The believer searching for this quotation will be left without a precise location to be found for it. Yeshua’s statement that it is “as the Scriptures have said,” is not meant literally, but rather, is intended as an instance where He paraphrased—or made a targum, as it is called—upon several different passages from Scripture.
The foremost passage of His paraphrase is that found in Isaiah 12:3.
The foremost passage of His paraphrase is that found in Isaiah 12:3.
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And you shall draw waters with joy from wells of salvation. |
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This passage makes perfect sense for Yeshua to reference, as it has traditionally been linked straight to the festival of Sukkot, as seen here in the Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 50b.
Saying what He said would have immediately alerted the worshipers to concepts they heard in synagogue and in rabbinic discourse. This can be seen by looking at the Hebrew of Isaiah 12:3.
The Hebrew term behind the phrase “from wells” is the word MIMMA’ANEI. It is in plural form and stems from the singular MA’YAN, which can mean a “fountain” or “well,” and alternatively, if the same letters are pronounced instead as ME'AYIN, it signifies the “innards” or the “belly” of a person. It is in this manner that Yeshua—during the festival of Sukkot and within the context of the water drawing ceremony—was referencing His words in John 7:37-38.
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When viewed with this change of meaning, the text is then read in the following manner:
And you shall draw waters with joy from the belly of salvation.
This slight change helps to make sense of the mention of “belly” by Yeshua, but it also allows us to see another reason what Yeshua was inferring in His paraphrase. This is also found in the Hebrew of Isaiah 12:3, with the word that follows immediately after “wells” / “belly.” That word is HAYESHUAH “of salvation.” This term is merely the verbal form of the Messiah’s own name: YESHUA! Putting these concepts back into the verse yields the following implied reading:
And you shall draw waters with joy from the belly of Yeshua.
Suddenly, the simple statement from Isaiah 12:3 takes on a whole new meaning, and the choice to make a paraphrase from it would have been too perfect for Yeshua to pass up. He was effectively telling the crowds the verse in Isaiah that is linked directly to the celebration of the House of Drawing during Sukkot was a prophetic hint to His role as the Messiah!
The allusion to this passage was multi-faceted. While the Hebrew text holds an important reference to Yeshua, the Aramaic Targum version of that same passage also has a feature providing further significance to what Yeshua was teaching. In the Targum Yonatan to Isaiah 12:3, we find the passage is interpreted in a much different way than in its Hebrew original but which clarifies exactly what was happening in John 7:37-38.
In a wildly different take on the matter, the targumist presented the notion that the “drawing” of “water” was meant in a decidedly specific spiritual context. The concept of “water” becomes a new “instruction,” and that is derived solely by the “chosen Tzidka”—that is, the “chosen righteous one” in the Aramaic tongue.
The term TZIDKA is merely an Aramaic cognate of the Hebrew TZADIK “Righteous One.” It is also encountered more often as TZADIKA in the Aramaic.
The term TZIDKA is merely an Aramaic cognate of the Hebrew TZADIK “Righteous One.” It is also encountered more often as TZADIKA in the Aramaic.
Yeshua is the Tzidka / Tzadika providing new understanding at the time of joy--Sukkot.
This is likely a reference also to Proverbs 10:11, which links that theme:
This is likely a reference also to Proverbs 10:11, which links that theme:
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A fountain of life is the mouth of the Tzadik…
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Yeshua, as the righteous teacher, speaks words of life to all who will listen. Again, this mention of CHAYIM “life” is physically referencing the flowing fountain, but spiritually, it has a more significant intent.
This is expressed also in the text of Likutei Etzot, Tzadik 62.
This is expressed also in the text of Likutei Etzot, Tzadik 62.
Yeshua as the Tzadik offers all who come to Him a sure spiritual teaching to transform us from the weariness of dead philosophy to the animated reality of living a meritorious life in the here and now and also in eternity to come.
That offer is one made also in Isaiah 55:1.
That offer is one made also in Isaiah 55:1.
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Ah! All thirsting: you must come to the waters! And he who has for himself no silver, you must come: you must purchase, and you must eat; and you must come, you must purchase without silver and without wage wine and milk!
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With similar terminology as to what we’ve already seen in this study, the call to the thirsting to come gives a foundation to what Yeshua cried out in John 7:37-38. To all the pilgrims at Sukkot who heard His message, they would have certainly been reminded of these types of passages and their spiritual relevancy.
In Jeremiah 17:13 exists a wordplay with the initial word, which I have merely left intact in its Hebrew transliteration below, that also links to these concepts.
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Mikveh of Yisra’el—YHWH! All forsaking You shall be ashamed! Those departing Me in the earth shall be written, for they have forsaken the fountain of living waters—YHWH!
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In this case, the term Mikveh can mean either “Hope” or “Gathering,” or the broader concept of the “pool” in which one immerses for ritual cleansing according to Torah. Once again, the concept of a source of water is applied in a spiritual manner as being what the people need. There is a spiritual Source for truth, and we must find how to access that vital reality. “Living waters” are thus the evidence of an ever-sustaining source of spiritual truth. We cannot hope to break free of the consequences of a life of death without access to that supernal fountain of living waters.
The concept is also seen in the text of Proverbs 13:14.
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The Torah of [the] sage is a fountain of life, to depart from snares of death.
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Once again, the instruction of the Torah is linked to a “fountain” and the reward of “life.” This is found in the person of the “sage,” being another word referencing the concept of the Tzadik, or the long-awaited Messiah.
This idea is elaborated upon in Avot d’Rabbi Natan 34, as it quotes from the above verse as well as Zechariah 14:8.
This idea is elaborated upon in Avot d’Rabbi Natan 34, as it quotes from the above verse as well as Zechariah 14:8.
The understanding of these terms in their Jewish perspective is an important detail to grasp. The ancient interpretations are valid insights into how the people were receiving and processing Yeshua’s words. Without knowing these clarifications of terms and phrases, we lose any potential hope for comprehending the accounts recorded for us in the New Testament, wasting time at best and engaging in misapplication at worst.
Finally, read now in John 7:39, where the apostle provides a brief commentary as explanation of what Yeshua was talking about by his unique choice of words.
Finally, read now in John 7:39, where the apostle provides a brief commentary as explanation of what Yeshua was talking about by his unique choice of words.
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Yet, this he said about the Spirit, whom they were prepared to receive – those who trusted in him, for the Spirit had not yet had been given, on account that Yeshua was not yet glorified.
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John included a clarification after Yeshua’s enigmatic words. He transparently tells us Yeshua was saying these things about the Spirit that was to come upon His followers. The Spirit gives the believer the supernal ability to perceive the eternal truths and live by them. John wanted to make sure his readers understood these odd statements were taken in the right context—presumably due to the broad paraphrase Yeshua utilized to present them to the Sukkot crowds.
With this in mind, look now at this passage from the Talmud Yerushalmi, Sukkah 5:1, which addresses Sukkot and the Water Drawing ceremony in particular, and how it relates perfectly to the explanation John provided for Yeshua’s words in 7:39.
In this incredible revelation, it is stated that Sukkot at the Temple was the time for potentially receiving the Holy Spirit in a special way—as “living waters.” The powerful experience of the Divine felt at Sukkot could be accessed every day if the person was graced to draw the Holy Spirit at Sukkot. One attending the Temple festivities likely eagerly awaited to draw the Holy Spirit! All of this ties into the words uttered by Yeshua on the last day of the festival! He was speaking about the Spirit because that is exactly what the hopes of the worshipers were focused on: receiving the “living waters” of Divine revelation through the Holy Spirit!
Based on these factors, Yeshua's words announced in the context of Sukkot that He is the Tzadik with the flowing insights / applications of Torah, which is what is expected in Judaism from the Messiah who is connected to the Source more so than any other. All who come to Him will likewise be able to share those vivifying Torah concepts with others, as they are the Torah from the Spirit, and not instructions only by man's inferences, which can sometimes be off in accuracy.
Some of Yeshua’s final words on that Sukkot are worth mentioning here, as seen in John 8:12.
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Yet again, Yeshua spoke with them, and said, “I am the light of the world. He who comes after me shall not walk in the darkness but shall find the light of life!”
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There is an important detail to make note of here. The Aramaic text omits the account of the woman caught in adultery, so from 7:53 through 8:11, the Peshitta has no place for the passage in its textual history. This omission merits its own study, but it is significant to this particular study because the Greek versions of John 7:53 explain that the people “went home,” and then picks back up at some point later the next day, as the Greek asserts in John 8:2.
However, due to the lack of that account existing in the Peshitta text, the events in John 7 and the events in John 8 are seen to all occur during the same day, making what Yeshua says in 8:12 (or 8:1 in the Eastern Peshitta numbering) relate completely to what was happening at Sukkot in the beautifully illuminated Temple courts. Therefore, this declaration in John 8:12 also took place during the last day of Sukkot!
However, due to the lack of that account existing in the Peshitta text, the events in John 7 and the events in John 8 are seen to all occur during the same day, making what Yeshua says in 8:12 (or 8:1 in the Eastern Peshitta numbering) relate completely to what was happening at Sukkot in the beautifully illuminated Temple courts. Therefore, this declaration in John 8:12 also took place during the last day of Sukkot!
With this second significant statement, Yeshua thus presents two central concepts about Himself that are important to properly understand. He first mentions Himself in the context of “living water,” and then secondly with the concept of being “the light” of the world. Both concepts are integral to underlying spiritual notions in Judaism of how we as physical and sin-scarred creations receive from the otherwise boundless and impenetrable Presence of the Creator.
This is seen in the concepts of SHEFA and OHR—“abundant flow” and “light.”
This is seen in the concepts of SHEFA and OHR—“abundant flow” and “light.”
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In Jewish literature both terms are routinely used to reference the reception of the Holy One’s spiritual influence experienced by His people. For Yeshua to mention both concepts in the context of being the vessel which we should come to by which we can receive from the Father, it shows He knew that the divine “flow” or “light” coming from the Most High is filtered through Him to all who will come to receive it.
This is further hinted at by looking at the content of Psalm 36:8-9.
This is further hinted at by looking at the content of Psalm 36:8-9.
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8 They shall be sated from the fatness of Your house, and of Your Edenic river they shall drink.
9 For with You is [the] fountain of waters; in Your light we shall see light! |
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In the brilliant glow of special festival menorahs and the backdrop of the Water Pouring ceremony, Yeshua’s words were a fulfillment of this passage, as we see mention of satisfaction coming from the House of the Holy One—the Temple itself, and an “Edenic river” that also provides light for the people. This river from Eden is an idiomatic way of saying that the waters come from a heavenly source—a spiritual teaching of value flowing out of the Temple.
Yeshua as the human source for living water and light is thus a direct affirmation of His status as the source for proper Torah understanding and application that occurs through the power of the Holy Spirit—all presented to the people in the holy atmosphere of the Temple during Sukkot!
All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.