What the Bleep Is Happening in John 9?

Okay, so I was up late (for me) scrolling through the invaluable Soma Library resource as well as the LSJ and the Nestle 1904 Greek Bible, because I am trying to figure out John 9.

From the Soma Library mixed in with general knowledge:

Jesus's name was not really Jesus Christ. The word Christ does not mean messiah. The word Christ is a title for someone who performs a function.

That function? To apply a salve with a drug during a ritual, often times applied to the eyes. There were many Christs, and the Jesus we read about in the text was not the first or only Christ. This is all for certain.

Now, this is where I get to questioning the exact incident in John 9, specifically in John 9:6-11.

First, the English (NIV) text for John 9:6: "After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes."

Now, I like to break complicated things down into simple parts. Where is this happening? In Jerusalem. Where exactly could we say that this is happening in modern-day terms? According to the text, after Jesus Christed the blind man in the eyes, he told him to wash in the "Pool of Siloam," which Wikipedia says is a man-made pool "located southeast of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem."

Okay, now how about this "ground" on which Jesus spat? A quick Google search says that soil conditions in Jerusalem "are diverse but predominantly Mediterranean soils, including red and brown soils, formed from limestone and chalk, and can be sandy clay or deep and well-drained, depending on the specific location and elevation."

Since we know the area and that there are man-made pools, and that this is a city, it's safe to say we are dealing with a limestone bedrock and perhaps a sandy clay texture above this.

Now, this is important, because the NIV says Jesus "made mud."

The Nestle 1904 text uses πηλὸν (pelon, clay); on the LSJ site , I see πηλός, meaning "clay, earth, used by masons and potters."

So let's break this down: Jesus is at the temple and is going to heal a blind man. He spits (saliva is symbolic of healing) on the ground and makes mud. Put simply: how much spit would you need to turn a sandy clay texture of soil into mud? That would require quite a lot of spit, and this is no doubt not literal, so something interesting is going on here that requires eyes to see and ears to hear.

The next thing I find interesting is the Nestle 1904 Bible uses the verb ἐπέχρισεν and defines this as "applies." When I search the word ἐπέχρισεν on the Eulexis LSJ website I see a varaint ("ἐπέχυντο"), and when I look at that term being used literally (pouring a liquid) and metaphorically (crowds pouring in) as "pouring."

One such instance occurs in Homer's Odyssey 1.135: "A handmaid brought water for washing in a fine golden pitcher and poured it above a silver basin so they could wash..."

So Jesus spits on this sandy clay texture, makes it into mud, and then pours it onto the man's eyes? I would assume if that much spit was mixed in with the ground to make it pourable, then it would be liquidy. However, I also realize that to Christ someone, you can smear the salve mixed with drugs.

Now, let's say the spit + earth mixture is liquidy in consistency, that means that it could be pored on, and it can be allowed to dry on the eyes, like a plastering effect (thank you flames for the suggestion). After this mixture has dried on the eyes and the drugs have taken effect, the blind man could wash himself off in the pool.

But, I'm not quite sure what's going on here. I know it's not literal. It's symbolic, and it's telling us something about how Jesus was engaged in these mysteries modern-day Christians call "miracles."

What do you think?

You tell me what you think?