For nearly two decades, archaeologists working in the City of David, near the Old City of Jerusalem, have worked on identifying the exact location of the ancient Pool of Siloam. New findings have shed light on a couple of possibilities. In John 9, we read of the miraculous healing of a blind man in the Pool of Siloam. “After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam”. So the man went and washed, and came home seeing” (John 9:6-7).
“The word ‘Siloam’ is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word ‘Shiloah,’ which means ‘sent,’ as explained in the gospel.
Although John does not specify the location of the pool , we can identify it through at least two other sources. First, the “Pool of Siloam” is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, indicating its location in the lower valley beneath the City of David, where King Hezekiah redirected the water of the Gihon Spring through a tunnel. Second, the nearby Arab village called “Silwan” retains the Greek name for Siloam, further supporting the location.
Since excavations began in the City of David about 150 years ago, the Pool of Siloam has been identified as the narrow pool at the exit of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, where the water from the Gihon Spring flows . Visitors who have walked through the tunnel would end their tour at this small pool.
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