Whence and Whither A Narrative Perspective on Birth a[nwqen 165 combination of several scriptural passages (34). Since it is a paraphrase or a reworking of many OT texts, it is unlikely that v. 38 has preserved the 3rd person singular due to an original setting. There is simply too much “editing” in v. 38 to imply that the 3rd person singular represents a quote. Vv. 38-39 fits nicely into the controversy on who Jesus is and how it is possible to know his identity. The Spirit, which in 3,3-8 represented the transforming power from above, is now within the believers. Jesus, who is himself the well of living water, makes the disciples become a spring of water as well (cf. 4,11). Similarly, the life that Jesus has in himself (1,4) in 3,15 becomes the life of the believers. Jesus is light, and he also enlightens (1,9). The same movement appears in John 7,38-39: The Spirit is now within the believers. Hence they can also know that the true identity of Jesus is from above. The explicit references in 7,37-39 are to “coming” to Jesus and “believing” in him. This is not epistemological language, but as noted above, epistemology is integrated into this language in John’s Gospel. The believers become a source of spiritual knowledge only after having come to Jesus. Spirit is the prerequisite for understanding the dispute about Jesus’ identity in chap. 7. Towards the end of this controversy the knowledge of Scripture becomes the issue. It is in accordance with John’s Gospel that only by the Spirit can the Christological implications of the OT be rightly understood (35). This conforms to the epistemological aspect of the dialogue with Nicodemus: the Spirit transforms and thus gives new insight. The principle “like is known by like” is implicit in this Christological controversy. Knowing the whence and whither of Jesus demands having the Spirit associated with Jesus’ glorification in John. Vv. 37-39 thus forms the opposite of judging kat∆ o[yin and is a parallel to 3,6b as well: “What is born of Spirit is Spirit”, and therefore also able to understand. The relevance of referring to the dialogue with Nicodemus is justified in the light of 7,50 where he is brought into the (34) This is admitted also by BROWN, Spirit, 156. (35) See John 2,22; 5,46-47; 12,16; 14,17.26; 15,26; 16,7.13-55; 19,28; 20.9. This is emphasized by C. HOEGEN-ROHLS, Der nachösterliche Johannes. Die Abschiedsreden als hermeneutischer Schlüssel zum vierten Evangelium (WUNT II/84; Tübingen 1996) 39, 68-69, 214. She demonstrates that 7,38 looks back to 1,50-51 and leads on to farewell speeches where Jesus speaks of “…der nachösterlichen Dimension des ‘Grösseren’”. There is no mention of the Spirit in the story between 7,39 and the farewell discourses.