Bible Strands
John 9:6
When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a man born blind immediately after declaring, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” He performs a physical act on the man before instructing him to wash at the Pool of Siloam in John 9:7.
The words — ἔπτυσεν (eptusen) means “He spat,” and πηλὸν (pēlon) translates to “clay” or “mud.” The text records Jesus mixing His saliva with the ground to create a paste before applying it to the man’s eyes.
The thread — Jesus uses saliva in healing acts in Mark 7:33 and Mark 8:23. The imagery of purification and restoration parallels the counsel in Revelation 3:18.
Why it lands — The passage documents a tangible, preparatory step that precedes the man’s physical restoration. It requires the reader to accept that divine action frequently employs ordinary, physical means before producing the stated result.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Cross-references
- Mark 7:33 So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue.
- Mark 8:23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.
- Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.