John 9:8

8 His neighbors and those who previously had seen him begging said, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?"

John 9:8 Meaning and Commentary

John 9:8

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 ( Acts 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 ( Matthew 20:30 ) .

John 9:8 In-Context

6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, put the mud on the man's eyes,

7 and said to him, "Go, wash off in the Pool of Shiloach!" (The name means "sent.") So he went and washed and came away seeing.

8 His neighbors and those who previously had seen him begging said, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?"

9 Some said, "Yes, he's the one"; while others said, "No, but he looks like him." However, he himself said, "I'm the one."

10 "How were your eyes opened?" they asked him.