[30]: "_Living water, ὑδως χων. It may surprise an English reader, unacquainted with the Oriental idiom, that this woman, who appears by the sequel to have totally misunderstood our Lord, did not ask what he meant by _living water,_ but proceeded on the supposition that she understood him perfectly; and only did not conceive how, without some vessel for drawing and containing that water, he could provide her with it to drink. The truth is, the expression is ambiguous. In the most familiar acceptation, _living water_ meant no more than running water. In this sense, the water of springs and rivers would be denominated _living_, as that of cisterns and lakes would be called _dead_, because motionless. Thus, Gen. xxvi. 19. we are told, that Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. It is _living water,_ both in the Hebrew and the Greek, as marked on the margin of our Bibles. Thus also Lev. xiv. 5. what is rendered _running water_ in the English Bible, is in both these languages _living water_. Nay, this use was not unknown to the Latins, as may be proved from Virgil and Ovid. In this passage, however, our Lord uses the expression in the more sublime sense of divine teaching, but was mistaken by the woman as using it in the popular acceptation." CAMPBELL'S Trans. of the Four Gospels, vol. ii. p. 518, _notes_. [31]: "It is no unusual practice with the Jews; we often have heard of it. R. Jonathan and R. Jannai were sitting together; there came a certain man, [Hebrew], and _kissed the feet_ of R. Jonathan." Again, "R. Meir stood up, and Bar Chama, [Hebrew], _kissed his knees_, or _feet_. This custom was also used by the Greeks and Romans, among their civilities and in their salutations." GILL in loc. Consult also HARMER'S Observations, vol. ii. chap. 6. [32]: ROBINSON. [33]: "There is in these denominations no inconsistency. By birth she was of _Syrophenicia_, so the country about Tyre and Sidon was denominated, by descent of _Canaan_, as most of the Tyrians and Sidonians originally were; and by religion a _Greek_, according to the Jewish manner of distinguishing between themselves and idolaters. Ever since the Macedonian conquests, Greek became a common name for idolater, or at least one uncircumcised, and was held equivalent to Gentile. Of this we have many examples in Paul's epistles, and in the Acts. _Jews and Greeks_, Ἑλληνες, are the same with _Jews and Gentiles_" CAMPBELL'S Transl. of the Gospels in loc. _notes_.