Siloam

Siloam (Hebrew Shiloach, "sent"; Greek Siloam) was a pool on the south-eastern edge of ancient Jerusalem, fed by the waters of the Gihon spring channeled through Hezekiah's tunnel — an engineering work constructed in the late eighth century BC (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chr. 32:30). Isaiah 8:6 refers to "the waters of Shiloach that go softly," contrasting the gentle waters of God's provision with the overwhelming Assyrian flood. The pool is most prominently featured in John 9:1–11, where Jesus heals a man born blind by making clay with saliva, spreading it on his eyes, and instructing him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man obeys, washes, and comes back seeing — provoking an extended confrontation with the Pharisees who question the healing's validity on the sabbath. The pool is also mentioned in Luke 13:4, where Jesus references the tower of Siloam whose collapse killed eighteen people. Archaeological excavations in 2004 uncovered what is believed to be the Second Temple-period pool on the slope of the City of David.