Biblical Pool of Siloam Is Uncovered in Jerusalem

[Jeffrey]

**Biblical Pool of Siloam Is Uncovered in Jerusalem
Tue Aug 09 2005 00:09:33 ET

Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem have discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city and the reputed site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth, the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports.

The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah’s Tunnel and is ``a much grander affair’’ than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, according to Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archeology Review, which reported the find Monday.

Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit'' to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was.’’

A gospel that was thought to be ``pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,’’ he said.

The discovery puts a new spotlight on what is called the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a trip that religious law required ancient Jews to make at least once a year, said archeologist Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who excavated the pool.

Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said. It would be natural to find him there.’’

The newly discovered pool is less than 200 yards from another Pool of Siloam, this one a reconstruction built between A.D. 400 and 460 by the empress Eudocia of Byzantium, who oversaw the rebuilding of several Biblical sites.

Developing…**

---

drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

 

[deb1]

Archeologist have found the pool where Christ healed a blind man. For many years it was thought that there was no such place. The Archeologist discovered this exactly where the gospel of John said that it was! Pretty interesting

drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

 

[Edwin1961]

It’s just another list of archeology ‘proofs’ that the NT Testament is true and of course Jesus IS who He says He is!

For the Apostle John to say where the pool is just verifies what John wrote is most definatley true.

 

[mpav]

This is especially interesting to me because nearly two weeks I woke in the night with the image of “John 9:25” in my mind. I read it the next day and it is the story of the man blind from birth and the Pool of Siloam. As I had been praying and using Holy Water hoping to cure a blind dog (and thereby influence the faith of her owner) I thought that was an amazing Gospel verse to pop into my dreams.

I should add that I do not know any of the Bible by chapter number.
I posted all this on another thread, but the finding of the Pool of Siloam just made me need to post it here as well.

 

[trth_skr]

Jeffrey:

…

**``Scholars have said that there wasn’t a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit’’ **…

“Scholars” (i.e., near heretical modernists) take another blow!

Who knows maybe Adam and Eve did live in the Garden.

Maybe the creation story is not a “Babylonian myth” .

Maybe the sun does go around the earth.

Maybe the Bible is not a collection of myths designed to teach us true faith after being interpreted by the modern Biblical exegetes who alone know which passages are real (i.e., one twisted verse in Ephesians- mutual submission) and which are “culture of the day” (the other 25-30 references by St. Paul to women submitting to their husbands).

Flush “modern” Biblical exegism down where it belongs before it is too late.

Then again maybe it is not the Pool of Siloam. Maybe it is a Babylonian swimminmg pool…

Mark
www.veritas-catholic.blogspot.com

 

[Jennifer123]

drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem have discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city and the reputed site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth, the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports.

The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah’s Tunnel and is ``a much grander affair’’ than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, according to Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archeology Review, which reported the find Monday.

Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit'' to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was.’’

A gospel that was thought to be ``pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,’’ he said.

The discovery puts a new spotlight on what is called the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a trip that religious law required ancient Jews to make at least once a year, said archeologist Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who excavated the pool.

Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said. It would be natural to find him there.’’

The newly discovered pool is less than 200 yards from another Pool of Siloam, this one a reconstruction built between A.D. 400 and 460 by the empress Eudocia of Byzantium, who oversaw the rebuilding of several Biblical sites.

Developing…

 

[Jennifer123]

Um…sorry about the duplicate thread. I posted this on the news forum and it got moved here.

Anyway, does it seem like there has been an awful lot of biblical discoveries lately? I can’t think of specific examples, but it seems like there have been quite a few discoveries in the news lately that seem to back up biblical history.

 

[harveyc]

Our family is making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a group lead by Fr. Pacwa in December and I’m hoping we can get this added to our pilgrimage schedule, though I suppose it will take some time to complete the excavation work and research.

 

[flamingsword]

I find it funny when scholars and historians are blown away when the Bible proves to have recorded history accurately. Then they still go looking for historical documents that prove other instances in the Bible. Have they ever considered that the Bible is a historical document?

 

[adventistnomore]

Yawn I was always thankful for the 19th century German skeptics who knew more about Ancient Jerusalem than the 1st (or at latest 2nd) century writers of the Bible. Pity those apostles made up their stories with the poorest knowledge of Yawn the historical and geographic details of the world in which they lived. Glad to have the experts who sat in arm chairs in Frankfurt Yawn set me staight on the geography of Second -Temple period Jerusalem.

Archeology major,
+Hugo

 

[Timidity]

“Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was.”

Where does John say “exactly where it is”?

 

[harveyc]

Timidity:

Where does John say “exactly where it is”?

Warning: with all the scattered reading I just did, this may be confusing/disorganized.

I was curious myself, so I did a little research. Perhaps, someone with more insight and discipline can help answer this question further.

I found no reference in John’s writings as to the location of the Pool of Siloam.

I use some bible software (free and, unfortunately, does not include the RSV-CE version) and saw that the Douay Rheims uses the name “Siloe” in both John 9:7 and in Nehemiah 3:15. The RSV-CE uses “Siloam” in John and “Shallum” in Nehemiah. (Siloam is also mentioned in Luke 13:4, but there is not any indication where the tower of Siloam is located either).

I went to A Catholic Commentary of Holy Scripture (Orchard, 1951, a source I heard recommended by Jimmy Akin) and and read about Nehemiah in section 295k and 295l of the commentary. The commentary, interestingly, refers to a flight of steps being unearthed in 1895 near the pool of Siloe. There are quite a few other comments that may be helpful if I was smart enought to understand them (the format of writing is confusing for me to follow). Easier to follow, however, is a map referred to as “Map C on Page 1311.” It shows the Pool of Shelah (?) in SE Jerusalem (along with other pools, steps, fountain gate, etc). In this same source, comments in section 798b for John 9:7 refer to “…washing in the pool of Siloam (SE. of Jerusalem)…”

That’s all I can do for now. I’d appreciate further comments on this by others. As a result of looking at the commentary again, I’ve decided that I should copy these maps and take them along with us on our pilgrimage to the Holy Land in December.

 

[Pug]

harveyc:

I’d appreciate further comments on this by others.

Here is the entry from the International Standard Bible Encylopedia (which is an old encyclopedia I believe out of copyright):

1. The “Pool of Siloam”:
   The water from the Siloam aqueduct, emerging at `Ain Silwan, flows today into a narrow shallow pool, approached by a steep flight of modern steps; from the southern extremity of this pool the water crosses under the modern road by means of an aqueduct, and after traversing a deeply cut rock channel below the scarped cliffs on the north side of el-Wad, it crosses under the main road up the Kidron and enters a number of channels of irrigation distributed among the gardens of the people of Silwan. The water here, as at its origin, is brackish and impregnated with sewage.
   The modern Birket es-Silwan is but a poor survivor of the fine pool which once was here. Bliss showed by his excavations at the site that once there was a great rock-cut pool, 71 ft. North and South, by 75 ft. East and West, which may, in part at least, have been the work of Hezekiah (2 Ki 20:20), approached by a splendid flight of steps along its west side. The pool was surrounded by an arcade 12 ft. wide and 22 1/2 ft. high, and was divided by a central arcade, to make in all probability a pool for men and another for women. These buildings were probably Herodian, if not earlier, and therefore this, we may reasonably picture, was the condition of the pool at the time of the incident in Jn 9:7, when Jesus sent the blind man to “wash in the pool of Siloam.”
   This pool is also probably the Pool of Shelah described in Neh 3:15 as lying between the Fountain Gate and the King’s Garden. It may also be the “king’s pool” of Neh 2:14. If we were in any doubt regarding the position of the pool of Siloam, the explicit statement of Josephus (BJ, V, iv, 1) that the fountain of Siloam, which he says was a plentiful spring of sweet water, was at the mouth of the Tyropoeon would make us sure.

 

[harveyc]

Thanks, Pug.

On Ave Maria Radio yesterday they had someone from what I think was the Biblical Archaeology Society that discussed the Pool of Siloam. The pool was “found” previously, but it wasn’t the one mentioned in John. This discovery is recent and they seem pretty sure it is the right pool as the dating of it puts it in the correct period.

The story can be read in this pdf file here.