Shiloah, The Waters of

The waters of Shiloah (also spelled Siloah, Siloam) were the gentle, reliable waters flowing from the Gihon spring through Hezekiah's tunnel into the Pool of Siloam in the lower city of Jerusalem. The name Shiloah derives from the Hebrew root shaloach, meaning sent or sending forth, describing the conducted flow of the water through the tunnel. Nehemiah 3:15 references the Pool of Siloah near the king's garden and the stairs of the city of David.

Isaiah 8:6–7 employs the waters of Shiloah in a famous oracle: because Judah refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly and instead fears Rezin and the son of Remaliah, God will bring upon them the powerful flood of the Assyrian army. The gentle, quiet waters of Shiloah become a metaphor for trusting in God's quiet provision and the Davidic covenant, in contrast to the turbulent flood of human military power. In the New Testament, the Pool of Siloam is the site where Jesus sent the man born blind to wash after applying clay to his eyes (John 9:7).