Summary: Recently, archeologists have made significant progress in the excavation of the ancient Pool of Siloam, revealing eight more 2,000-yr-old steps.
[Jesus] spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”… So he went and washed and came back seeing. – John 9:6-7 (ESV)
More Steps Unearthed
In recent weeks, Jerusalem archaeologists reported significant progress in the excavation of the Pool of Siloam, a sacred heritage site where the Bible records the miracle of Jesus healing a blind man. A set of eight more steps has been unearthed descending into the pool, which was about the size of two Olympic swimming pools, and was used by millions of Jewish pilgrims as a ritual bath or mikveh before entering the Temple.
During the Second Temple period, millions of pilgrims visiting Jerusalem would wash in the pool before ascending to the Temple Mount along the path archaeologists call the “Pilgrimage Road.” This was the city’s main street that led directly to the Temple. At that time the pool had been renovated and expanded to its largest size, about 1 1⁄4 acres.
“It’s exciting to be a part of a story that’s bigger than ourselves — to be a part of bringing a story to life that has significance not for millions, but for billions,” said Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation, to Fox News.
Excitement grew over the summer as the site as seen in May (on the left above) underwent extensive excavation and a new set of stairs began to emerge. The photo on the right was taken from nearly the same vantage point three months later. Note the three stone stair locations (A,B,C) that are labeled in each shot.
The excavation project in the ancient city began in 2004 when a large water pipe burst in the City of David, an area south of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society. Since then, the dig has been ongoing.
Earlier this year, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced their goal of a full excavation of the ancient Pool of Siloam that will eventually be open to the public. The project will take several more years. The work is being carried out by the IAA, the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation, which work to preserve and develop Jerusalem by connecting people of different faiths and backgrounds.
Traditional Site of the Pool
Traditionally, the Christian site of the Siloam Pool had been the pool and church that were built by the Byzantine empress Aelia Eudocia (400–460) in commemoration of the miracle in John chapter 9. However, the exact location of the original pool, as it existed during the time of Jesus, remained a mystery until it was rediscovered in 2004.
The pool that Eudocia constructed in the 5th century at the end of the Siloam Tunnel survives to the present day, surrounded on all sides by a high stone wall with an arched exit of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This pool is around 70 yards from the Second Temple (or Lower) Pool of Siloam, and is significantly smaller. Until the discovery of the Second Temple pool, this pool was wrongly thought to be the one described in the New Testament.
The Pool of Siloam in the New Testament
According to the New Testament Gospel of John, Jesus and his disciples met a man near the pool who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked Jesus if the man or his parents were at fault for the man’s blindness. Jesus replied that neither were the cause.
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9: 3-5 (NIV)
After Jesus said this, he made mud and put it over the blind man’s eyes and told him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. The blind man obeyed and when he washed the mud from his eyes his sight was restored.
This miracle caused a big stir in the community because the man was well-known as a beggar who had been born blind. Multiple times the Pharisees questioned the man and even his parents, yet they still insisted that Jesus was not from God because he didn’t keep the Sabbath according to their customs.
Construction of the Pool
We first read about the Pool of Siloam in 2 Kings. It was constructed more than 2,700 years ago by Hezekiah, king of Judah, to provide Jerusalem with a fresh and constant water supply in preparation for the impending attack by the Assyrians.
Hezekiah ordered the digging of a 1,750-foot tunnel under the City of David to bring water from the Gihon Spring, located outside of the walled city, into Jerusalem. The Gihon is also the name of one of the four rivers mentioned in Genesis 2:13 that flowed out of the Garden of Eden, along with the rivers of Pishon, Tigris and Euphrates.
Hezekiah’s tunnel directed the spring’s water into several different pools within the city, including the Second Temple Siloam Pool where Jesus later healed the blind man.
“As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?“ – Kings 20:20 (NIV)
Not only do we have the Bible’s testimony of this event, but the crucial archaeological discovery unearthed in 1880 of an inscription in ancient Hebrew script also testifies to the importance of the site. The Siloam Inscription from the 8th century BC was found in the tunnel and records that the Gihon Spring was diverted to the pool during the reign of King Hezekiah.
“In the Pool of Siloam, we find evidence of history preserved for us, revealed at just the right time,” said Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, to Fox News in January.
“Theologically, it affirms Scripture, geographically it affirms Scripture, and politically, it affirms Israel’s unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem. Some discoveries are theoretical,” he said. “This one is undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and of its people, Israel.”
Importance of the Heritage Site
“The ongoing excavations within the City of David — the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem — particularly of the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem,” Orenstein said.
“The half-mile running from the Pool of Siloam in the south, continuing along the Pilgrimage Road, up to the footsteps of the Western Wall, Southern Steps and Temple Mount, represents the most significant half-mile on the planet,” he said. “There is no half-mile anywhere on Earth which means more to more people — not to millions, but to billions — than the half-mile that is the City of David.”
Conclusion
The Pool of Siloam archeology site affirms Jerusalem’s biblical heritage, Orenstein pointed out. Living in a time where so much of biblical history is being questioned, it’s encouraging and exciting to be able to unearth more historical heritage and antiquity.
“You can see it, you can touch it, you can walk on it,” said Orenstein. “Our heritage in Jerusalem, going back thousands of years, is not simply a matter of faith, but a matter of fact. It’s a big responsibility. And it’s also a big privilege, and the best is truly yet to come.”
Currently, visitors have access to a small section of the pool previously excavated, but the City of David plans to open up the entire historic site once crews complete the large project. Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: The excavation site of the Pool of Siloam. (credit: City of David Foundation)
