=8, 9. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was a beggar.= The best manuscripts have _beggar_, not, as in our English version, _blind_. So Alford and Tischendorf.--=Is not this he that sat and begged?= Apparently he was a well-known beggar, like the one described in Acts 3:2, 10. Comp. Luke 18:35. He is described as one that _sat and begged_, in contrast with such as beg from door to door. Beggars of this description having a regular place, where they may always be found soliciting alms, are a not uncommon sight in the East.--=Some said, This is he. Others, No! but he is like him. He himself said, I am he.= This is the correct rendering of the best reading; it varies slightly from our English version. His own response seems to have settled the question of his identity among the common people. That some should have at first doubted is not strange, considering the alterations in appearance made by the clear eye in place of the sightless eyeballs, and the fact that he was no longer to be found in his accustomed place, begging. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay,[362] and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash; and I went and washed, and I received sight. [362] verses 6, 7. 12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. =10-12.= The first investigation is made informally, and without prejudice, by the common people. It is curiosity alone which inquires, and it is easily convinced of the facts in the case.--The man’s reply to his questioners is more laconic in the original than in our English version. It is literally, “_And going and washing, I saw._” It reminds one of Cæsar’s famous report, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” The verb rendered I saw or I received sight (ἀναβλέπω) is literally, _I saw again_. Sight being the prerogative of humanity, he speaks as though it were really once his prerogative (though in fact he never possessed it), had been lost, and was now recovered to him again.--The question, _Where is he?_ appears to be asked, not in a spirit of enmity, but simply from a natural curiosity and interest to see him who had wrought the cure. Christ’s escape from the blind man and the multitude is analogous to his course on other occasions (comp. ch. 5:13), and is characteristic of one who ordinarily avoided all occasions of public triumph and enthusiasm (ch. 6:15; Matt. 8:4; 9:30; Mark 5:43). 13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.