John 9:8

Such a wonderful event as the giving of sight to a man born blind could not but be the talk of the town, and many heeded it no more than they do other town-talk, that is but nine days' wonder; but here we are told what the neighbours said of it, for the confirmation of the matter of fact. That which at first was not believed without scrutiny may afterwards be admitted without scruple. Two things are debated in this conference about it: -

I. Whether this was the same man that had before been blind, Joh 9:8.

1. The neighbours that lived near the place where he was born and bred, and knew that he had been blind, could not but be amazed when they saw that he had his eye-sight, had it on a sudden, and perfectly; and they said, Is not this he that sat and begged? It seems, this blind man was a common beggar, being disabled to work for his living; and so discharged from the obligation of the law, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. When he could not go about, he sat; if we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. When he could not labour, his parents not being able to maintain him, he begged. Note, Those who cannot otherwise subsist must not, like the unjust steward, be ashamed to beg; let no man be ashamed of anything but sin. There are some common beggars that are objects of charity, that should be distinguished; and we must not let the bees starve for the sake of the drones or wasps that are among them. As to this man, (1.) It was well ordered by Providence that he on whom this miracle was wrought should be a common beggar, and so generally known and remarkable, by which means the truth of the miracle was better attested, and there were more to witness against those infidel Jews who would not believe that he had been blind than if he had been maintained in his father's house. (2.) It was the greater instance of Christ's condescension that he seemed (as I may say) to take more pains about the cure of a common beggar than of others. When it was for the advantage of his miracles that they should be wrought on those that were remarkable, he pitched upon those that were made so by their poverty and misery; not by their dignity.

2. In answer to this inquiry, (1.) Some said, This is he, the very same man; and these are witnesses to the truth of the miracle, for they had long known him stone-blind. (2.) Others, who could not think it possible that a man born blind should thus on a sudden receive his sight, for that reason, and no other, said, He is not he, but is like him, and so, by their confession, if it be he, it is a great miracle that is wrought upon him. Hence we may take occasion to think, [1.] Of the wisdom and power of Providence in ordering such a universal variety of the faces of men and women, so that no two are so alike but that they may be distinguished, which is necessary to society, and commerce, and the administration of justice. And, [2.] Of the wonderful change which the converting grace of God makes upon some who before were very wicked and vile, but are thereby so universally and visibly altered that one would not take them to be the same persons.

3. This controversy was soon decided by the man himself: He said, I am he, the very man that so lately sat and begged; "I am he that was blind, and was an object of the charity of men, but now see, and am a monument of the mercy and grace of God." We do not find that the neighbours appealed to him in this matter, but he, hearing the debate, interposed, and put an end to it. It is a piece of justice we owe to our neighbours to rectify their mistakes, and to set things before them, as far as we are able, in a true light. Applying it spiritually, it teaches us that those who are savingly enlightened by the grace of God should be ready to own what they were before that blessed change was wrought, Ti1 1:13, Ti1 1:14.

II. How he came to have his eyes opened, Joh 9:10-12. They will now turn aside, and see this great sight, and enquire further concerning it. He did not sound a trumpet when he did these alms, nor perform his cures upon a stage; and yet, like a city upon a hill, they could not be hid. Two things these neighbours enquire after: -

1. The manner of the cure: How were thine eyes opened? The works of the Lord being great, they ought to be sought out, Psa 111:2. It is good to observe the way and method of God's works, and they will appear the more wonderful. We may apply it spiritually; it is strange that blind eyes should be opened, but more strange when we consider how they are opened; how weak the means are that are used, and how strong the opposition that is conquered. In answer to this enquiry the poor man gives them a plain and full account of the matter: A man that is called Jesus made clay, - and I received sight. Joh 9:11. Note, Those who have experienced special instances of God's power and goodness, in temporal or spiritual things, should be ready upon all occasions to communicate their experiences, for the glory of God and the instruction and encouragement of others. See David's collection of his experiences, his own and others', Psa 34:4-6. It is a debt we owe to our benefactor, and to our brethren. God's favours are lost upon us, when they are lost with us, and go no further.

2. The author of it (Joh 9:12): Where is he? Some perhaps asked this question out of curiosity. "Where is he, that we may see him?" A man that did such cures as these might well be a show, which one would go a good way for the sight of. Others, perhaps, asked out of ill-will. "Where is he, that we may seize him?" There was a proclamation out for the discovering and apprehending of him (Joh 11:57); and the unthinking crowd, in spite of all reason and equity, will have ill thoughts of those that are put into an ill name. Some, we hope, asked this question out of good-will. "Where is he, that we may be acquainted with him? Where is he, that we may come to him, and share in the favours he is so free of?" In answer to this, he could say nothing: I know not. As soon as Christ had sent him to the pool of Siloam, it should seem, he withdrew immediately (as he did, Joh 5:13), and did not stay till the man returned, as if he either doubted of the effect or waited for the man's thanks. Humble souls take more pleasure in doing good than in hearing of it again; it will be time enough to hear of it in the resurrection of the just. The man had never seen Jesus, for by the time that he had gained his sight he had lost his Physician; and he asked, it is probable, Where is he? None of all the new and surprising objects that presented themselves could be so grateful to him as one sight of Christ, but as yet he knew no more of him than that he was called, and rightly called, Jesus - a Saviour. Thus in the work of grace wrought upon the soul we see the change, but see not the hand that makes it; for the way of the Spirit is like that of the wind, which thou hearest the sound of, but canst not tell whence it comes nor whither it goes.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh_9:8-13

The neighbours, therefore … said, Is not this he that sat and begged

Types of character in relation to Christs work--Those who are only speculatively interested in the work

As a stone cast into a lake throws the whole mass of water into agitation, producing circle after circle to its utmost bounds, this healing threw into excitement the whole social sphere in which it occurred.

No man liveth unto himself. What affects one will affect many. Society is a chain of which every man is a link, and the motion of one link may vibrate through the whole chain. Society is a body of which every man is a member; the pulsation of one heart will throb through every limb. The feelings produced in this case were various. Note, concerning inquiries of the class we here deal with

I. THEIR LACK OF EARNESTNESS. They related

1. To the identity of the man. The question (Joh_9:8) seems to have been asked out of mere curiosity. Their difficulty (Joh_9:9) arose partly from the change the opened eye would make in his countenance, giving it a new character; and partly from the unaccountableness of the result.

2. To the method of his restoration (Joh_9:10). In this there is no ring of earnestness, only curiosity.

3. To the whereabouts of the Restorer (Joh_9:12). But what is He? All they meant was we should like to see this wonder worker. Those who have a mere speculative interest in Christianity are constantly asking such questions with no genuine thirst for truth.

II. THEIR LACK OF GENEROSITY. They utter no congratulatory word. Had they been true men, the event would have touched them into the enthusiasm of social affection. But there is not one spark of it. Their intellect seems to move in ice. So is it ever with this class. There is no heart exultation over the millions Christianity has blessed, only a cold inquiry about details.

III. THEIR LACK OF INDEPENDENCY (Joh_9:13). They brought Him to the judicial court to try the question of His identity. They were not in earnest enough to reach a conclusion that would satisfy themselves. Conclusion: How lamentable that there should be a class only speculatively interested in the wonderful works of Christ. What then men saw should have led them to hearty acceptance and consecration. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The change effected in the man

The want or the sudden presence of an eye, much more of both, must needs make a great change in the face; those little balls of light, which no doubt were more clear than nature could have made them, could not but give a new life to the countenance. I marvel not if the neighbours, who had wont to see this dark visage led by a guide, and supported by a staff, seeing him now walking confidently alone out of his own inward light, and looking them cheerfully in the face, doubted whether this were he. The miraculous cures of God work a sensible alteration in men, not more in their own apprehension than in the judgment of others. So, in the redress of the spiritual blindness, the whole habit of the man is changed. Where before his face looked dull and earthly, now there is a sprightly cheerfulness in it, through the comfortable knowledge of God and heavenly things. (Bishop Hall.)

I am the man myself

In a town filled with Romanists, Gideon Ouseley, as was his custom, hired the bellman to announce through the streets the preaching in the evening. The man, afraid of opposition, uttered the announcement timidly and indistinctly. Ouseley, passing in the street, heard him, and taking the bell, rang it himself, proclaiming aloud, This is to give notice, that Gideon Ouseley, the Irish Missionary, is to preach this evening in such a place, and at such an hour. And I am the man myself? (Stevens History of Methodism.)

We ought boldly to confess Ghost

We do not bear enough testimony for our Lord. I am sure I felt quite taken aback the other day when a flyman said to me, You believe that the Lord directs the way of His people, dont you, sir? I said, That I do. Do you know anything about it? Why, he said, Yes. This morning I was praying the Lord to direct my way, and you engaged me; and I felt that it was a good beginning for the day. We began talking about the things of God directly. That flyman ought not to have been the first to speak: as a minister of the gospel I ought to have had the first word. We have much to blame ourselves for in this respect. We hold our tongues because we do not know how a word might be received; but we might as well make the experiment. No harm could come of trying. Suppose you were to go into a place where persons were sick and dying, and you have medicine about you which would heal them, would you not be anxious to give them some of it? Would you say nothing about it because you could not tell how it might be received? How could you know how it would be received except by making this offer? Tell poor souls about Jesus. Tell them how His grace healed you, and perhaps they will answer, You are the very person I need; you have brought me the news I have longed to hear. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

How Christian lost his burden.

He ran thus till he came to a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below in the bottom a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome and said with a merry heart, He hath given me rest by His sorrows and life by His death. (J. Bunyan.)

Jesus all in all to new converts

In this mans mind, as soon as ever he received sight, a man that was named Jesus came to the forefront. Jesus was to him the most important person in existence. All that he knew of Him at first was, that He was a man that was named Jesus; and under that character Jesus filled the whole horizon of His vision. He was more to him than those learned Pharisees, or than all his neighbours put together. Jesus was exceeding great, for He had opened his eyes. By-and-by, fixing his mind upon that figure, he saw more in it, and he declared, He is a prophet. He boldly said this when he was running great risks by doing so. To their faces he told the carping Pharisees He is a prophet. A little further on he came to this, that he believed Him to be the Son of God, and worshipped Him. Now, my dear friend, if you are saved by Jesus your star must set, but the star of Jesus must rise and increase in brilliance till it becomes no more a star, but a sun, making your day, and flooding your whole soul with light. If we are saved Christ Jesus must and will have the glory. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Converts must testify of Christ

After this man had received sight his testimony was all of Jesus. It was Jesus that spat, it was Jesus that made the clay, it was Jesus that anointed his eyes. So will it be in your mind with the gospel of your salvation: it will be Jesus only. It is Jesus who became the surety of the covenant, Jesus who became the atoning Sacrifice, Jesus is the Priest, the Interposer, the Mediator, the Redeemer. We know Jesus as Alpha, and Jesus as Omega. He is the first, and He is the last. In your salvation there will be no mistake about it, and no mixture in it; you will have nothing to say about man, or mans merit, or mans will; but on the head which once was wounded with the thorns, you will put all your crowns. Jesus did it, did it all, and He must be praised. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 9:8-9. The neighbours, therefore — Those who lived in the beggar’s neighbourhood, and those who had frequently passed by where he used to beg, being well acquainted with his form and visage, were astonished at the alteration which they observed in his countenance, by reason of the new faculty that was bestowed upon him. Wherefore they expressed their surprise by asking one another, if this was not the blind man to whom they used to give alms. Some said, This is he; others, He is like him — “The circumstance of having received his sight would give him an air of spirit and cheerfulness, which would render him something unlike what he was before, and might occasion a little doubt to those who were not well acquainted with him.” — Doddridge. But he said, I am he — The very man that so lately sat and begged; I am he that was blind, and was an object of the charity of men, but now see, and am a monument of the mercy and grace of God. We do not find that the neighbours appealed to him in this matter; but he, hearing the debate, interposed, and put an end to it. It is a piece of justice we owe to our neighbours, to rectify their mistakes, and to set things before them, as far as we are able, in a true light. Applying it spiritually, it teaches us that those who are savingly enlightened by the grace of God, should be ready to own what they were before that blessed change was wrought. See 1Ti 1:13-14.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Excitement among neighbours, Joh_9:8-12.

So great a cure upon so well-known a case could not fail to startle the immediate residents of the locality. The scenes and dialogues that follow are so natural that they cannot but be true. The character of the restored man is developed in the most exquisite manner by his own words. His native shrewdness and firmness of convictions against captious cavils, his rational faith in, and confiding fidelity to, his restorer, appear in beautiful succession. He had, or at least attained, that position, purpose, and spirit of faith which only need Christ to be truly presented, to result in his full acceptance of Christ. Even before he knew the Good Shepherd he was, by anticipation, one of the true sheep, showing his Christward predisposition, and obedience to the Father’s drawings, by hearing the Shepherd’s voice and following his steps. See notes on Joh_9:17; Joh_9:25; Joh_9:35, and Joh_10:4.

The neighbours prosecute a threefold inquiry. Is this the very man who was blind? How were his eyes opened? Where is his restorer? The first two questions were amply answered by the man himself. The third remained as yet unanswered.

8. He that sat and begged—The notoriety of his case explains how it was that the apostles knew him to be born blind. Joh_9:2.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_9:8-12. Καὶ οἱ θεωροῦντες, etc.] And they who before had seen him that he was a beggar, the previous eye-witnesses of his being a beggar. The καί gives the force of universality: and in general; the partic. praes. has the force of the imperfect.

ὁ καθημ. κ. προσαιτ.] who is accustomed to sit there and beg. They had known him for a long while as occupied in no other way than in begging.

The peculiarly vivid and detailed character of what follows renders it probable that John derived his information from the lips of the man himself after he had become a believer.

Joh_9:11. ἄνθρωπος λεγομ. Ἰησοῦς] nescierat caecus celebritatem Jesu, is the opinion of Bengel and others. But he must surely have learnt something more regarding his deliverer than His mere name. The quondam blind man conducts himself rather throughout the whole affair in a very impartial and judicious manner, and for the present keeps to the simple matter of fact, without as yet venturing on a further judgment.

ἀνέβλεψα] may signify, I looked up (Mar_16:4; 2Ma_7:25; Plat. Pol. vii. p. 515 C; Ax. p. 370 C; Xen. Cyr. vi. 4. 9). So Lücke; but this meaning is inadmissible on account of Joh_9:15; Joh_9:18, which require, I became again seeing, visum recepi. Comp. Mat_11:5; Tob_14:2; Plat. Phaedr. p. 243 B. As regards the man born blind, indeed, the expression is inexact, but rests on the general notion that even one born blind has the natural power of sight, though he has been deprived of its use from his very birth, and that he recovers it through the healing.[48]

That the man is able to give, at all events, the name of his benefactor, is intelligible enough from the inquiries which he would naturally institute after he had been healed. But the circumstance that whilst at the outset he expresses no opinion regarding the person of Jesus (see previously on ἄνθρ. λεγ. Ἰησ.), he notwithstanding afterwards declares Him to be a Prophet (Joh_9:17), and One sent of God (Joh_9:33), though he was first brought by Jesus Himself to believe in Him as the Messiah in Joh_9:35 ff., is entirely in keeping with the gradual nature of the development through which he passed. Such a gradation is, indeed, natural and necessary in some cases, whereas others differently constituted are at once carried to the goal by the force of the first impression received. This in opposition to Baurs supposition that the narrator designedly so framed his account that the miracle should be viewed as an ἔργον θεοῦ primarily in its pure objectivity.

εἰς τὸν Σιλωάμ] here the name of the pool; hence, the Rec. has εἰς τ. κολυμβ. τ. Σιλ.,a correct gloss.

[48] Comp. Grotius: Nec male recipere quis dicitur, quod communiter tributum humanae naturae ipsi abfuit. In Pausanias, also (Messen. iv. p. 240), we read of one who was born blind and received sight, ἀνέβλεψε. Comp. Evang. Nicod. 6, where the man born blind who there speaks says: ἐπέθηκε τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τ. ὀφθαλμούς μου, καὶ ἀνέβλεψα παραχρῆμα.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 9:8-12 . The people discuss the man’s identity .

Joh 9:8 . Οἱ οὖν γείτονες … προσαιτῶν ; “The neighbours, then,” who might or might not be at that time near the man’s home, “and those who formerly used to see him, that he was blind” [but προσαίτης is read instead of τυφλὸς by recent editors], “said, Is not this he that sits and begs?”

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 8-12. “His neighbors therefore, and those who before saw him begging, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9. Some said, It is he; others, He is like him. He said, I am He. 10. Thereupon they said to him, How were thine eyes opened? 11. He answered and said, A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. Having gone thither and washed, I have recovered sight. 12. They said to him therefore, Where is this man? He says, I know not.”

These verses describe in the most natural and most dramatic way the effect produced by the return of the blind man to his home. The evangelist distinguishes from the neighbors all those, in general, who were accustomed to see him (imperfect participle θεωροῦντες) asking alms. The question of Joh 9:8 is proposed by all; but two slightly different tendencies immediately manifest themselves in the solutions given in Joh 9:9. Some frankly recognize the fact: “Yes, it is he.” Others seem to be already preparing for themselves a means of eluding it: “He is like him.” In the Byzantine reading:He is like him, a resemblance is conceded which is calculated to establish identity. But according to the Alexandrian variant: “No; but he is like him!” there would be already a denial of identity; everything would be reduced to an accidental resemblance. In any case, it is evidently the latter class who, upon the declaration of the blind man, present to him the questions of Joh 9:10 and Joh 9:12. The expression recover sight (Joh 9:11) arises from the fact that blindness, even from birth, is a state contrary to nature. The question of Joh 9:12 betrays the intention of provoking an inquiry; it is the transition to the following passage:

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A true image of all men, who as they are of nature blind, do neither themselves receive the light that is offered unto them, nor suffer it in others, and yet make a great ado amongst themselves.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The neighbours therefore . . . said, Is not this he that sat and begged--Here are a number of details to identify the newly seeing with the long-known blind beggar.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. That he was blind] Ὁτι τυφλος ην: but, instead of this, προσαιτης, when he begged, or was a beggar, is the reading of ABC*DKL, seven others, both the Syriac, both the Arabic, later Persic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Sahidic, Gothic, Slavonic, Vulgate, eight copies of the Itala, and some of the primitive fathers. This is in all probability the true reading, and is received by Griesbach into the text.

Beggars in all countries have a language peculiar to themselves. The language of the Jewish beggars was the following: זבי כי Deserve something by me - Give me something that God may reward you. רכי ני זכי גר מך O ye tender-hearted, do yourselves good by me. Another form, which seems to have been used by such as had formerly been in better circumstances, was this: סכי כי מה הוינא אסתכל בי מה אנא Look back and see what I have been; look upon me now, and see what I am. See Lightfoot.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Then the neighbors, and those who had formerly seen him. The blind man was known not only to the neighbors, but to all the inhabitants of the town, having been wont to sit and beg at the gate of the temple; and the common people look more readily at such persons than at others. This circumstance — of the man being known — contributed to make many people acquainted with the fame of the miracle. But, as impiety is ingenious in obscuring the works of God, many thought that it was not the same man, because a new power of God openly appeared in him. Thus we find that the more brightly the majesty of God is displayed in his works, the less credit do they obtain among men. But the doubts of those men aided in proving the miracle, for, in consequence of those doubts, the blind man celebrated more highly the grace of Christ by his testimony. It is not without good reason, therefore, that the Evangelist brings together all those circumstances which seemed to exhibit more clearly the truth of the miracle.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(8) They which before had seen him that he was blind.—The better reading is, that he was a beggar. The persons are the neighbours, who from living near him knew all about him, and those who used to see him at the spot where he sat begging. Both classes, of course, knew that he was blind.

Is not this he that sat and begged?—Better, Is not this he that sitteth and beggeth? The tenses are present, marking his usual custom.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. had seen him that he was blind] The true reading is, saw him that he was a beggar, or perhaps, because he was a beggar, i.e. he was often seen in public places.

he that sat and begged] Or, he that sitteth and beggeth; present participles with the article to express his general habit.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him,.... For it seems the blind man was not a stranger, one that came out of the country to the city to beg; but a native of Jerusalem, that had long lived in a certain neighbourhood in it, and was well known to be what he was;

that he was blind; the Alexandrian copy, and one of Beza's exemplars, and the Vulgate Latin version read, "that he was a beggar"; to which agree the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions: wherefore they

said, is this not he that sat and begged? they particularly remark his begging posture; he was not laid all along, as the lame man in Act 3:2; nor did he go from door to door, as others were used to do, but he sat in some certain place, as blind men generally did; see Mat 20:30.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

Ver. 8. Is not this he that sat and begged?] As once blind Belisarius did with Da obolum Belisarlo. Give a coin to Belisarius.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The neighbours ... - This man seems to have been one who attracted considerable attention. The number of persons totally blind in any community is very small, and it is possible that this was the only blind beggar in Jerusalem. The case was one, therefore, likely to attract attention, and one where there could be no imposture, as he was generally known.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The evangelist now reports the consequence of this miracle. He, being cured, returneth to his friends: those who lived about that place, had taken notice of his ordinary sitting there, and begging; now, seeing him perfectly recovered, they ask one another, if this were not the blind beggar that used to sit there.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 8-34. (9) The proof of the reality of the miracle, the antagonism of the Pharisees, and the persecution of the heated mad.

The neighbors therefore, and they who beheld him aforetime that (or, be cause) he was a beggar. This is the first time that his well-known position is mentioned, and (if we translate oti "because") the very fact of his begging (probably with loud voice) had made him a well-known individual. Said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The excitement caused by the miracle:

v. 8. The neighbors, therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

v. 9. Some said, This is he; others said, He is like him; but he said, I am he.

v. 10. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

v. 11. He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash; and I went and washed, and I received sight.

v. 12. Then said they unto him, Where is He? He said, I know not.

The blind man had returned to the city, to his home. Jesus meanwhile continued His way elsewhere. The people of the neighborhood, seeing the former blind man walking about with the manifest ability to use the sense of sight, were filled with the greatest surprise. Others there were that were ready to identify him as the man that had formerly plied his vocation as beggar. The miracle was so singular that they all were somewhat doubtful as to his identity, some saying that it was he, others, that he only resembled him. But the former blind man settled the discussion by frankly maintaining that he was one and the same. Note how minute, distinct, and true to life the narration flows along. The neighbors and all that had come together now eagerly pressed him with questions as to the manner in which he had received his sight. And he related it truthfully. He had never seen Jesus, but he had heard His name. He knew that Jesus put some kind of paste on his dead eyes, which he afterwards found to be clay; how this had been made he could not tell, because he had not seen. He knew that by following directions he had been given his sight, and he was still filled with the wonder of it all. Upon the further question as to the whereabouts of his benefactor, the former blind man can truthfully say only that he does not know. Though Jesus was well known in some parts of Palestine at that time, there were many people that did not yet know Him. They may have heard of Him in a vague way as the great Prophet and Healer, but His name and His person were not well known in Jerusalem.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The blind man, thus miraculously cured, returns with much joy to his neighbours and acquaintance, who confer with him about this matter; they inquire, Whether he was the person cured or not? Who was the person that cured him, and where that person was? he assures them, he was the very person that was blind, but now cured, and he that cured him was Jesus: that the means used was clay and spittle; but where the person was, or what was become of him, he knew not.

Learn thence, 1. That the miraculous cures of God work a sensible alteration in men, not only in their own apprehension, but in the judgments of others. This miracle shined forth among the neighbours, who having seen and observed the blind man, admire his healing.

Learn, 2. How frankly the blind man acknowledges, and how freely he confesses, that he was the person whom Jesus had healed; I am he. It is an unthankful silence to smother the works of God in an affected secrecy; to make God a loser by his bounty towards us, is a shameful injustice. O God! we are not worthy of thy common favours, much less of spiritual blessings, if we do not publish thy mercies on the housetop, and praise thee for them in the great congregation.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Is not this the man that used to sit and beg?

This remark appears in the form of a question to express the surprise of the people. AT: "This man is the one who used to sit and beg!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

neighbor

beg

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

8. προσαίτης (all the best MSS. and versions) for τυφλός.

8. οἱ θεωροῦντες. They who used to behold him aforetime, that (Joh 4:19, Joh 12:19) he was a beggar, or because he was a beggar, and was therefore often to be seen in public places.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8.] θεωροῦντες belongs to τὸ πρότερον, and thus expresses the present relatively to that time,—οἳ ἦσαν τὸ πρότ. θεωροῦντες. The choice of the word θεωροῦντες implies attention and habit.

The reading τυφλός was most likely a correction of some one who thought προσαίτης did not express plainly enough the change in him. The question of identity would be much more likely to turn on whether he was really the person who had sat and begged (the blindness being involved in it), than on the fact of his having been blind.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. The lively account which follows, of the experiences of the blind man who had recovered his sight, may go back to the evidence of the man himself.

οἱ θεωροῦντες αὐτὸν ὅτι κτλ. θεωρεῖν is used here (see on 2:23) of “taking notice,” as at 10:12, 20:6 etc. They noticed the man because he was a familiar figure, as a blind beggar. Burney urges that ὅτι must mean “when,” and that it is a misrendering of the Aramaic particle דְּ, which might be translated either “that” or “when.” But this is unnecessary. They had noticed the man formerly because he used to beg from them; cf. 12:41.

For προσαίτης (אABC*DNWΘ) the rec. has τυφλός.

With ὁ καθήμενος καὶ προσαιτῶν cf. Mar 10:46 τυφλὸς προσαίτης ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν. A blind man begging by the wayside is a common figure in the East.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Blind. The best texts substitute prosaithv, a beggar.

That sat and begged [ο καθημενος και προσαιτων] . Literally, the one sitting and begging. Denoting something customary.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.