Pool of Siloam

Biblical Text

The Pool of Siloam is best known from the account of the Healing of the Man Born Blind in the Gospel of John, chapter 9. Jesus spat on the ground, made clay, applied it to the blind man's eyes, and said, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." The man went, washed, and came back seeing (John 9:6–7). At this point John adds the explanation "which is by interpretation, Sent."

The same watercourse or pool appears in other books as well:

• Isaiah 8:6 uses "the waters of Shiloah that go softly" as an image of God's protection.
• Nehemiah 3:15 mentions "the pool of Siloah by the king's garden" in its account of the repair of the city wall.
• Luke 13:4 refers to an incident in which "the tower in Siloam fell" and killed eighteen people.

Background

The name comes from the Hebrew Shiloah, derived from a verb meaning "to send," and is understood to refer to a channel that "sends" water. The name is thought to have arisen from the channeling of water from the Gihon Spring on the east side of Jerusalem into the city. 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30 record that King Hezekiah made a pool and a conduit and brought the waters of Gihon to the west side of the City of David. A rock-cut tunnel identified with this conduit survives to this day, and in the nineteenth century an ancient Hebrew inscription describing its excavation (the Siloam Inscription) was discovered inside it.

Scholars differ on the pool's exact location and on its appearance in various periods. The remains of a Byzantine-era pool have long been known, and in the early 2000s the remains of a stepped pool from the Second Temple period were excavated nearby. Some identify this site with the Pool of Siloam in John's Gospel. According to later Jewish literature (the Mishnah), during the Feast of Tabernacles there was a ceremony in which water was drawn from Siloam and poured out on the altar of the Temple.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the chapters surrounding chapter 9, John presents Jesus as "the light of the world" (John 8:12; 9:5). The opening of the blind man's eyes is therefore read as one of the Seven Signs in the Gospel of John. John repeatedly calls Jesus the one whom the Father has sent, and because the Gospel deliberately includes the interpretation of the name as "Sent," many interpreters see a connection between Siloam and Jesus. Some also read Isaiah's "waters of Shiloah that go softly"—the way of quiet trust in God—as leading, in the New Testament, to faith in the One whom God has sent.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Connection with baptism: Some of the early Church Fathers read the washing and the opening of the eyes as a symbol of baptism. Liturgical traditions, which emphasize prescribed forms of worship, have linked this account with baptismal instruction. Evangelical preaching tends instead to emphasize the man's faith, which obeyed the word by going and washing himself.
• Suffering and sin: The disciples asked whose sin had caused the man's blindness. Jesus answered that it was neither the man's sin nor his parents' (John 9:1–3). The account of the tower in Siloam in Luke 13 likewise leads to the teaching that those killed in the accident were not greater sinners than others. Both passages are often cited as a caution against directly linking illness or disaster to an individual's sin.
• Distinguishing the text from later additions: Scripture does not say that the water of Siloam or the clay itself had healing power. Stories claiming that the water has special curative properties are not found in the text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, "Siloam" serves as a symbol of healing and newly opened eyes. The name is frequently given to organizations, welfare facilities, and churches that serve the visually impaired. There is also a gospel song titled "Siloam" that is sung at gatherings and worship services. In preaching, John 9 is often used as a text on obedience and growth in faith. Sermons frequently trace the man's progression from first calling Jesus simply "a man" to finally believing in and worshiping Him.