Biblical Pool of Siloam Is Uncovered in Jerusalem

BiblePlaces.com ^ | Today | Text and photos by Todd Bolen

[I'm ALL Right!]

I envy your experiences. I would love to work in that field.

[dila813]

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...

[sheik yerbouty]

Hence the term, Shi'ite..

[kstewskis]

check this out!

[ApplegateRanch]

A wild prediction: this will be the archaeological discovery of the decade for biblical studies. At least there is no chance of it being declared a forgery.

ROTFLMAO
Just a tad bitter about some other 'recent discoveries', perhaps?

IAC, thanks for posting this. I hope they are able to reach an agreement, and finish excavating the entire site.

[Dustbunny]

Wow, this is exciting. Thank you so much for the pics.

[Northern Yankee]

Amazing pictures, and notes.

Thanks...

How you doin?

[P8riot]

``Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said.

Just another piece of humanist hogwash

[P8riot]

``Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said.

Just another piece of humanist hogwash

[Preachin']

That's about as cool as it gets.

[af_vet_rr]

Simply amazing.

[safisoft]

Our family was just there last week. We were looking for the lower end of Hezekiah's tunnel, driving up and down the Arab neighborhood. We finally gave up and parked at the top end and walked down until we found 30 VERY wet teens from the US (on a Jewish Heritage trip) coming out of the lower end, which sadly is managed by the same Mooselimb authority as Har Ha-Bayit [Temple Mount].

In our wanderings in the neighborhood, we actually stumbled into a group working on the lower site. This whole area has been turned into a near-ghetto by the "residents" - but the City of David is protected by a fence, and armed guards. Hopefully, this too will be brought under Israeli control.

[r9etb]

``Now we have found the Pool of Siloam ... exactly where John said it was.''

This is not uncommon -- John's Gospel has repeatedly been shown to be geographically accurate.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Marvelous. Bump for reference.

[r9etb]

Just another piece of humanist hogwash

I think you're being oversensitive here ... in the sense of doing his religious duties, Jesus was "just" another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem. It would be natural to find him at the Pool of Siloam. Jesus went to places where the Jews commonly went.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Ye'es.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Biblical archeology bump.

[agrace]

Ping for very cool thread.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

but the stones Christ walked on are hard to find.

Did you walk on the stones of the path that leads to Caiphas,sp. house? We were told that those stones had been carbon dated to the time of Jesus.

[timsbella]

Truth always finds its way to the surface, but it all comes down to whether you believe.

Fascinating that the ruins are uncovered around the Jewish calendar anniversary of much of the destruction (9th of Av).

Coincidence? Bah!