The Gift of Living Water: A study of the relationship between water symbolism and the Spirit in the Gospel of John

As an essential element for life, water functions as a key Johannine symbol to reveal progressively that Jesus is the Word Incarnate which brings about transformation and divine revelation. This dissertation examines the extent to which John deliberately develops an increasingly intimate relationship between water symbolism and the Spirit in the Fourth Gospel. Through a narratological-exegetical approach, this study scrutinises John’s integration of water symbolism into the whole Gospel from the Prologue to the climactic moment of revelation at the Feast of Tabernacles (7:37-39), where Jesus offers the gift of ‘living’ water, identified as the Spirit. After brief consideration of scholarship concerning authorship, dating and the contemporary cultural context, key textual moments are explored beginning with pre-Tabernacles encounters (John 1-4), climaxing at the Tabernacles Festival’s pivotal revelations (John 7) and thence the Spirit’s role post-Tabernacles (John 9-21). John’s masterful literary style incorporating effective use of symbolism, irony, dualisms, double entendres and eschatological allusions supports his high Christology, which demonstrably distinguishes the Fourth Gospel from the Synoptics. The study affirms Jesus as the ultimate vehicle for spiritual transformation and sustenance as the giver of the ‘living’ water, paralleling Ezekiel’s river vision (Ezek 36:23-28), providing the bridge between humanity and the divine.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

mth

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Spenceley, Douglas

• BS Y Beibl

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:3818