Bible Synapse
Pool of Siloam
Site · 1st century BC – AD 70 · Time of Jesus
See it on the map and timeline
- Date
- 1st century BC – AD 70 (the stepped pool's building and use)
- Found
- City of David, Jerusalem, 2004. Workers repairing a pipe exposed stone steps in 2004; Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron then excavated the pool, and the find was announced in August 2005.
- Now
- At the site
- Passages
- John 9:1–11
What it is
A large public pool at the southern end of Jerusalem's City of David, fed with water from the Gihon Spring through Hezekiah's tunnel. Flights of stone steps run down its sides to the water, and it was about 69 metres (225 feet) across, with corners slightly wider than right angles. Coins in its plaster show that it was built no earlier than the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BC); it was abandoned and filled in after the Roman destruction of AD 70.
How it connects to the Bible
John 9 tells how Jesus put clay on a blind man's eyes and told him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”. This is the pool of that period; the smaller pool long shown to visitors was built in the 5th century. Because it was fed by a spring, some scholars think it may also have served as a ritual bath for pilgrims.