From chapter 7 onwards, the narrative is set in Judaea and particularly in Jerusalem, the royal city of the Messiah. There is a rich and complex Old Testament background to chapters 7-8, found in passages such as:

Leviticus 23:33-36, which gives the origin of the Feast called Sukkoth in Hebrew; this may be translated as Tabernacles, Shelters or Tents. Zechariah 14:8-9; 'When that day comes, fresh water will flow from Jerusalem ... Then the Lord will be king over all the earth; everyone will worship him as God and know him by the same name.'

Ezekiel 47: 1-12, describing the prophet's vision of the fresh water which will flow from the Temple-'and wherever it flows, it will bring life.' Exodus 3:14-15, the giving of the divine Name to Moses.

Many passages which refer to light particularly in contrast to darkness, such as Genesis 1 :3, Psalms 27: 1, 11'9: 105, Isaiah 2 :5, 9 :2, 42 :6, 51 :4, 60:1-3 and 19.

We shall refer to the Feast of Sukkoth as the Feast of Shelters; it was the autumn harvest Festival, commemorating Israel's wanderings in the wilderness, and it took place in September. This joyful Festival is the setting' for John 7-8. The gospel has already referred to two Passovers (2: 13, 6 :4); the Feast of Shelters came six months after the Passover so that we may calculate that two years had passed since the Baptist announced that Jesus was the one to whom he bore witness that he was the Son of God.

The celebrations of the Feast of Shelters continued for eight days and two special ceremonies took place, (i) the pouring out of water in the Temple as a sacrificial act, and (ii) the lighting of many lamps after dark before the end of the Festival to commemorate the light given to the Israelites by the pillar of fire in the desert, Exodus 13:21-22. These ceremonies are the particular settings of Jesus' sayings of 7:37-28 and 8: 12 and the discourses as a whole. 'Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink ... Whoever believes in me; streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart.' 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.' In the discourses of chapters 7 and 8, Jesus affirms his divine authority in the face of increasing disbelief and hostility from the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem.