Pool of Siloam Inscription

In the Gospel of John, it is recorded that Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth at the pool of Siloam.

The pool of Siloam was fed by water from an underground spring which flowed through a tunnel originally constructed by King Hezekiah, who ruled from 716-687 B.C., as recorded in 2Kings 20:20:

"Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah; all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city; are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

An inscription was discovered in 1880 at the sight of Hezekiah’s water tunnel describing how two teams of Jewish excavators, digging towards one another, finally met to finish its construction. The discovery is known as the Siloam inscription and can be found at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum in Turkey.

Siloam Inscription

The inscription reads: "The account of the breakthrough is as follows: While the tunnelers were working with their picks, each toward the other, and while there was still five feet of rock to go through, the rock split to the south and to the north, and the voices of each were heard calling one to another. And at that moment, the laborers broke through striking pick against pick.

Then the water flowed from the spring to the pool for a distance of 1,900 feet. And the height of the tunnel above the heads of the laborers was 160 feet."

The greatest event to ever take place at the pool of Siloam is recorded in Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John:

'Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

Jesus Healing the Blind Man

And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"

He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.

They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him who has opened your eyes?"

He said, "He is a prophet." But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; "but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner."

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. But one thing I do know: that once I was blind, but now I see."

. . . Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. "We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."

The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! "Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. "Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. "If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."

They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"

He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."

Then he said, “Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."

Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."

THE GREATEST SONG TO BE SUNG BY ALL US BLIND MEN:

AMAZING GRACE

HOW SWEET THE SOUND

THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME

I ONCE WAS LOST

BUT NOW I'M FOUND

I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE!

Bible Archeology website

This article on the Pool of Siloam is taken from our 4 volume book series "Bible Believer's Archaeology" and can be downloaded for your ebook reader by visiting our resource download page by Clicking Here.