John 9:8

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not 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 As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay,

7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?"

9 Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man."

10 They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"