As a believer it is helpful to my faith when archeological discoveries reinforce or directly prove the historicity of the Bible. In three scriptures, we read of the Pool of Siloam.
2 Kings 20:20 —
As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
Nehemiah 3:15 —
He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam, by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David.
John 9:7 —
“Go,” [Jesus] told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
And now, if you want to go see the pool, you can.
The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority and the City of David Foundation announced days before the new year that the Pool of Siloam, a biblical site cherished by Christians and Jews, will be open to the public for the first time in 2,000 years in the near future.
“The Pool of Siloam’s excavation is highly significant to Christians around the world,” American Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, told Fox News Digital. “It was at this site that Jesus healed the blind man (John:9), and it is at this site that, 2,000 years ago, Jewish pilgrims cleansed themselves prior to entering the Second Temple.
“The Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, both located within the City of David, are among the most inspiring archeological affirmations of the Bible…
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The pool was first built roughly 2,700 years ago as part of Jerusalem’s water system in the eighth century B.C. The construction unfolded during the reign of King Hezekia as cited in the Bible in the Book of Kings II, 20:20, according to the two Israeli agencies and the City of David Foundation.
According to estimates, the Pool of Siloam passed through many stages of construction and reached the size of 1¼ acres.
Atheists, secular humanists and mainline scoffers often characterize the Bible as being mythological or fictional. Yet there has never been an archeological find that has disproved any biblical record; in fact, any archeological discovery relating to a biblical text has only validated the Bible’s historicity.
For instance (and appropriately, as we exit the Christmas season), it was long thought that the Bible was in error when Luke wrote (2:1) that, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)” Critics charged that Quirinius was governor at a later date than what the Bible claims, but Sir William Ramsey (1851-1939), historian and archaeologist, demonstrated that Quirinius was twice governor of Syria, the first being at the time of Jesus’ birth.
So, when another bit of archeology verifies the scripture’s record, it serves as a reminder that my faith is based, at least in part, on solid evidence of its historical accuracy. The reinforcement comes in handy when facing a culture that is not just increasingly hostile, but increasingly militant and violent towards Christians in ways that would have been unthinkable just 30 years ago.
The Pool of Siloam is one of those significant historical discoveries that can encourage us.
Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation in Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital, “One of most significant sites affirming Jerusalem’s biblical heritage — not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact — with significance to billions around the world, will be made fully accessible for the first time in 2,000 years.”
The Pool of Siloam doesn’t prove that Jesus was who he said he was but taken with hundreds of other pieces of archeological evidence, we can trust that the biblical authors were accurate in what they wrote about the times and places in which they lived. And if they were accurate in those details, then a person could reasonably conclude that they were accurate in other details — like Jesus being the Son of God.
I thought Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, nicely summarized what the discovery of the Pool of Siloam means for us.
“In the Pool of Siloam, we find evidence of history preserved for us, revealed at just the right time. This is a truly historic event. Theologically, it affirms Scripture, geographically it affirms history and politically it affirms Israel’s unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem. Some discoveries are theoretical. This one is an undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and of its people, Israel.”