Siloam

Biblical Texts

• John 9:7, 11: Jesus anoints the eyes of a man blind from birth with clay and tells him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." The man goes, washes, and comes back seeing. John adds the explanation "which is by interpretation, Sent." This event is treated in detail in the article Healing of the Man Born Blind.
• Luke 13:4: Jesus cites the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them, and he states that they did not die because they were greater sinners than others.
• Isaiah 8:6: The text mentions "the waters of Shiloah that go softly." These waters serve as an image of God's quiet protection, in a context rebuking the people for refusing them.
• Some identify the "pool of Siloah" in Nehemiah 3:15 with the same place.

Background

Jerusalem's most important water source was the Gihon Spring outside the city. Siloam was the place where this water was brought into the city and collected. Both 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30 record that Hezekiah made a conduit and brought water into the city. This record is commonly associated with "Hezekiah's Tunnel" (the Siloam Tunnel). In the late nineteenth century, an ancient Hebrew inscription describing the tunnel's construction was discovered inside it.

The Hebrew name Shiloah is related to a word meaning "to send." It is understood to refer to a channel that "sends" water to another location.

As for the pool's location, a Byzantine-era site had long been known. In 2004, however, the remains of a stepped pool dating from around the New Testament period were discovered during sewer work, and many scholars identify it as the pool of Siloam mentioned in John's Gospel. Scholars nevertheless differ on its exact location and date.

The Mishnah (the body of Jewish oral law) reports that during the Feast of Tabernacles a ceremony was held in which water was drawn here and poured out on the altar of the Temple.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

John's Gospel repeatedly presents Jesus as the one "sent" by the Father. For this reason, the explanation that Siloam means "Sent" is often read as a sign pointing to Jesus himself. The healing of the blind man is one of the seven signs in the Gospel of John. Together with the declaration "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5), it sets the opening of physical eyes alongside the opening of spiritual eyes.

Luke's account of the fallen tower and John 9:2–3 share a common theme: Jesus corrects the assumption that disaster or disability must be punishment for a person's particular sin.

Interpretation and Debate

• Some of the early Church Fathers read the washing at Siloam as a type of baptism. The Catholic and Orthodox churches also have a tradition of reading this passage in connection with baptism in their Lenten liturgies.
• Protestants generally read the passage as a story of faith in and obedience to the word of Jesus.
• The text does not say that the water of Siloam itself had healing power. The healing is portrayed as the result of Jesus' word and of action taken in obedience to that word. Speaking of "the mysterious waters of Siloam" by blending this account with the tradition that the sick were healed when the water of the Pool of Bethesda was stirred introduces content not found in the text.

In the Korean Church

"Siloam" is frequently cited in sermons in the sense of "being sent and receiving sight." A gospel song of the same title is also widely sung. The name has been used for church departments, small groups, and institutions serving the visually impaired.