and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 7. The fountain of Siloe was at the foot of the walls of Jerusalem, to the east, where its waters were collected in a reservoir for the benefit of the city. Thither our Saviour sent the blind man. The word Siloe signifies sent, and was a figure of Christ, who was sent by his eternal Father into the world to enlighten all men, of whom this blind man was the emblem. The pool of Siloe represents the sacrament of baptism, by which we are sanctified and made Christians. It is still to this day held in great veneration by the Turks, who think its waters very beneficial in diseases of the eyes. Calmet.—Its waters signify those of divine grace and light, communicated to the faithful soul through Jesus Christ, who was sent of God. V.—Thus Sedulius:
—— Cognoscite cuncti,
Mystica quid doceant animos miracula nostros.
Cœca sumus proles miseræ de fœtibus Hevæ,
Portantes longo natas errore tenebras.
Sed dignante Deo mortalem sumere formam
Tegminis humani, facta est de Virgine nobis
Terra salutaris, quæ fontibus oblita sacris
Clara renascentis referat spiracula lucis.