Holy Site Where Jesus Healed Blind Man Will Be Opened To The Public In Jerusalem
The Historic pool of Siloam is where Hezekiah's tunnel ends in Jerusalem, Israel | Getty ImagesA historic biblical site believed to be where Jesus healed a blind man and Jewish pilgrims took ritual baths for purity will be fully excavated for the first time and opened to the general public.
The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority and the City of David Foundation announced the initiation of the excavation of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem in a Tuesday announcement.
"The Pool of Siloam in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem is a site of historic, national, and international significance. After many years of expectation, we will soon begin uncovering this important site and make it accessible to the millions of visitors and tourists who visit Jerusalem every year," Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said in a statement.
Visitors will be allowed to view the excavation of the historic site. Within a few months, tourists can access the entire pool, traveling in the footsteps of the pilgrims that purified themselves at the pool on their journey to the Holy Temple. The tourist route will begin at the southernmost point of the City of David and end at the Western Wall.
The pool was reportedly constructed 2,700 years ago, in the eighth century B.C., during the reign of King Hezekiah, who is credited with having "brought water to the city" in 2 Kings 20:20.
It served as a reservoir for collecting water from the Gihon Spring, delivering water to the city through an underground tunnel.
"Due to its importance, the Pool of Siloam was renovated and expanded in the late Second Temple period, some 2,000 years ago," the IAA's announcement reads.
"It is believed that at this time the pool served as a 'mikveh', a ritual bath, for the thousands of pilgrims who converged at the Pool of Siloam before ascending via the City of David to the Temple."
In John 9:1-7, the pool is mentioned as the site where Jesus healed a man born blind and restored his vision. The verse describes Jesus spitting on the ground, making mud with his saliva, and placing it on the man's eyes.
"'Go,' he told him, 'wash in the Pool of Siloam' (this word means 'Sent'). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing," the verse reads.
According to IAA's announcement, a group of British-American archaeologists uncovered some of the pool's steps in the 1890s, and British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon excavated the Pool of Siloam inthe 1960s.
In 2004, the Jerusalem Gihon Water Company also discovered some of the pool's steps while doing infrastructure work.
Under the direction of archaeologists Prof. Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron, the IAA undertook an excavation of the site, exposing the pool's northern side and some of the eastern side. The IAA's recent excavation is the first time the entire pool will be exposed.
As The Christian Post reported, Shukron is involved in another archaeological discovery and translation of an inscription containing King Hezekiah's name. Shukron deciphered the tablet, discovered in 2007, alongside Prof. Gershon Galil, head of the Institute for Biblical Studies and Ancient History at Haifa University in Israel.
Shukron and archaeologist Reich found the fragment near a man-made pool in the Siloam tunnel, with Galil and Shukron spending a decade deciphering it. The inscription summarizes the first 17 years of Hezekiah's reign and his accomplishments, such as bringing water to the city through an underground tunnel.
"This is an extremely important discovery that changes [some basic assumptions of] research, since until today it was commonly accepted that the kings of Israel and Judah, unlike the kings of the ancient Middle East, did not make themselves royal inscriptions and monuments… to commemorate their achievements," Galil said.
The professor also asserted that the inscriptions "support the claim that scriptures in the Book of Kings are based on texts originating from chronicles and royal inscriptions and that the Bible reflects historical reality and not imagination."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.Kamman@christianpost.Com. Follower her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
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Jerusalem’s Pool Of Siloam To Be Excavated, Opened To The Public
The northern perimeter of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. (Koby Harati/City of David Archives)
(JNS) An ancient Jerusalem pool that was used by millions of Jewish pilgrims during the time of the Second Temple two millennia ago as a ritual bath before ascending the Temple Mount, and revered by Christians as the site where Jesus cured a blind man, will be fully excavated and then opened to the public, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced.
The Pool of Siloam, located in the southern portion of the City of David, the ancient epicenter of Jerusalem, and just outside the Old City walls is expected to become one of the most important historic and tourist sites in the city.
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The pool has been a focal point for archaeologists and scholars for the last 150 years. The excavations are set to begin in January and will continue for at least several months, while the site is expected to open to the public in about a year.
The City of David, a top tourist attraction in the capital, is adjacent to the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.
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The Pool of Siloam was uncovered at the end of the 19th century, when British and American archaeologists led by Frederick Jones Bliss and Archibald Campbell Dickie exposed some of the steps of the Pool, followed by some work in the 1960s by the British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon.
The site’s scope was more fully uncovered only in 2004, when the city Gihon water company was carrying out infrastructure work and a tractor accidentally laid bare more of the location, leading to a partial excavation at the time, said Dr. Amit Re’em, the Jerusalem district archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The well-preserved pool covered with ashlar carved stone was a monumental site, and the consensus in the archaeological community was that this was indeed the Siloam Pool, he said.
The Pilgrimage Road
Moreover, the recently uncovered adjacent stone path, dubbed “the Pilgrimage Road,” which Jewish pilgrims used to ascend the Temple Mount during the Second Temple Period after purifying themselves in water and donning white robes, leads from the Pool to the Mount, the Israeli archaeologist said.
This pool was in use during the time of Jesus, he noted. According to the Gospel of John, it was at the Siloam Pool that Jesus healed the blind man.
“There is no doubt that this is one of the most important historic sites in Jerusalem, and as such, it should be fully exposed,” Re’em said.
It remains to be seen what lies underneath the pool, and whether an earlier stage of the pool dating back to the First Temple will be found as well, the archaeologist said.
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The Pool of Siloam was constructed as part of Jerusalem’s water system during the reign of King Hezekiah (715–687/6 BCE), as described in 2 Kings 20:20.
It served as the reservoir for the waters of the Gihon Spring, which were diverted through an underground water tunnel, and was one of the most important areas in Jerusalem in the First Temple period, the Antiquities Authority said. Due to its location and importance, the Pool of Siloam was renovated and expanded some 2,000 years ago, at the end of the Second Temple period.
The planned excavation of the five-dunam site (about 1.25 acres) is getting underway after a 14-year legal battle culminated in June when Israel’s Supreme Court found no reason to challenge the validity of the Ateret Cohanim organization’s purchase of 99-year leases, renewable for an additional 99 years, from the Greek Orthodox Church, the largest landowner in Jerusalem.
One of Ateret Cohanim’s goals is to purchase land in the history-rich area for public viewing, said Doron Spielman, vice president of the City of David Foundation. Previously, the area, which was off limits to everybody, lay barren for decades and was littered with garbage, he said.
“It is not every day that we find an icon in Jerusalem,” Spielman said. “This is not just a huge find, it is a mega-find.”
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said in a statement, “The Pool of Siloam in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem is a site of historic, national and international significance. After many years of anticipation, we will soon merit being able to uncover this important site and make it accessible to the millions of visitors visiting Jerusalem each year.”
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One million visitors visited the City Of David in 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus, and a record three million are expected next year with the launch of a cable car, said Oriya Dasberg, head of physical development at the City of David Foundation.
“The same way that this pool drew pilgrims thousands of years ago—on the path of our ancestors—it will now attract millions of tourists,” she said.
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Jordan Unveils $100 Million Plan For Anniversary Of Jesus’ Baptism
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan has launched a $100 million master plan aimed at attracting 1 million Christian pilgrims to celebrations of the second millennium of the baptism of Jesus in 2030.
The ambitious plan was unveiled by a foundation created by the Jordanian government to develop the “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” area, on the east bank of the Jordan River, long venerated as the place of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Archaeological discoveries of an ancient monastery at Al-Maghtas, Jordan, became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015.
Samir Murad, chair of the new foundation, said his group plans to provide Christians access to visit and worship at the site while respecting its integrity.
“We wanted to provide pilgrims a chance to be able to spend quality time at the location of the baptism while respecting its spirituality and the UNESCO World Heritage site conditions,” said Murad, a businessman and former minister of labor.
Murad’s team rejected proposals for five-star hotels and fine dining and instead opted for “glamping”-style lodging for more down-to-earth accommodations. “We decided on a biblical village theme that attempts to re-create a 2,000-year-old experience,” he said.
Visitors will have a choice of eateries serving local organic food, “centered on the wilderness and plants mentioned in the Bible,” Murad said. Electricity and WiFi lines will be placed underground so as not to clutter the aboveground experience.
Murad said the initial phase of the project will cost about $15 million. A second phase, which will include a three-star hotel, restaurants, shopping area, museum, wellness center, nature sanctuary and “opportunities for pilgrims to have special quiet spiritual time,” will cost as much as $85 million. It was unclear, he said, how the project in its entirety will be funded.
“Our initial goal is to raise the needs for the first phase so that people can see and feel what we plan to do,” Murad said.
Nine faith organizations have been officially granted the opportunity to build a place to welcome pilgrims to the baptism site.
One of the nine is the Baptist World Alliance, a network of Baptist churches around the globe, which is partnering with the Jordanian Baptist Convention on constructing the Baptist outpost in Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
The Rev. Elijah Brown, secretary general of the BWA, was among 250 guests at a dinner marking the launch of the project, attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, his two sons and his prime minister. Brown later told Jordanian Baptists gathered at Amman Baptist Church that the deadline for both phases “is set for 2029, to be ready for the 2,000-year anniversary of the baptism of Jesus at the River Jordan.”
Brown implored the Jordanian Baptist leaders to work closely with the Baptist World Alliance.
“We want to do this in total partnership with your convention,” Brown told local Baptists. “We want to plan together, fundraise together and have custodianship together.”
Brown’s wife, Amy, told the assembled Baptists that her great-uncle, August Lovegren, spent 36 years as a general surgeon in Jordan.
She spoke warmly of Jordan’s royal family, recalling that Lovegren had a special relationship with the late King Hussein.
“Our family, and the Baptist family, have a great appreciation and respect for Jordan,” Amy Brown said. She added that they look forward “to continuing the legacy of Jordan in general and the personal legacy of our family and our larger family of faith by being part of the development to the site that Jesus was baptized in.”
— Religion News Service
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