Immersion in the Flowing Water of Johannine Symbolism

The ubiquity of water in the Fourth Gospel and its likely symbolic significance has spawned a large number of studies, many of which seek to detect as consistent a reference as possible. Analysis shows that these studies can be categorized by their primary methods and frames of reference. This article argues that such studies frequently ignore that water is not a contingent symbol but is essential to the narrative setting of the Gospel, and that the variety of contexts and uses need greater recognition: water does not serve a single symbolic purpose in the Gospel but is part of the rich language of divine abundance.