Water from the belly

“As the Scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).   As the Scripture says ?  Where?

Edmee Kingsmill ( The Song of Songs and the Eros of God: A Study in Biblical Intertextuality (Oxford Theological Monographs) ) suggests the Song of Songs 4:15, where “living water” flows from the beloved, who is a garden spring.  Elsewhere in the Song, the lover praises her “belly” (LXX: koilia ; 7:2), and her belly is aroused by the lover’s approach (5:4).

This works.  The beloved is the temple, and Jesus says that the water of the Spirit will flow from the one who drinks of Him.  Each believer is an Ezekiel 47 temple.  The beloved is the bride, of course, and the connection of well and bride is a staple of biblical imagery.  Living water flowing from the bride is, in part, the living water of a stream of descendants, so that betrothal near a well is a promise of the bride’s fertility.  Living water is for cleansing as well as refreshment (see Leviticus and Numbers), so those who drink from Jesus communicate not only life but purification.