The Pool of Siloam is mentioned a few times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. It was a pool located in the City of David, just south of the original city of Jerusalem. The pool served as a major water source for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and played an important role in Jesus’ ministry.
Here is an overview of the key events that took place at the Pool of Siloam according to the Bible:
1. Jesus healed a man born blind there
One of the most well-known stories about the Pool of Siloam is when Jesus healed a man born blind, as recorded in John 9:1-12. As Jesus was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked if the man’s blindness was due to his own sin or his parents’ sin. Jesus responded that it was neither, but so “the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus then spat on the ground, made mud with his saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. Jesus told him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. When the man went and washed, he came back able to see for the first time in his life.
This miraculous healing displayed Jesus’ compassion and power. It also revealed Jesus’ divine identity as the Son of God. The Pharisees, however, were divided about where Jesus’ power came from. Some claimed Jesus could not be from God because he healed on the Sabbath. Others wondered how a sinner could perform such signs. The healed man, however, worshipped Jesus and believed he was a prophet.
2. The pool was a gathering site during Jewish feasts
In John 5:1-9, the Bible mentions that the Pool of Siloam was a gathering site during Jewish feasts. During one feast, Jesus encountered a disabled man who had been ill for 38 years. The man lay near the pool, hoping that someone would help him get into the pool when the waters were “stirred up.” Popular belief at the time was that the pool had healing powers when the waters were stirred. Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well and then told him to “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately, the man was healed, picked up his mat, and walked for the first time in decades. This story illustrates Jesus’ compassion for the sick and his authority to heal.
3. The pool’s waters flowed from Gihon Spring
According to 2 Kings 20:20, 2 Chronicles 32:30, and Isaiah 22:9-11, the Pool of Siloam received its waters from the Gihon Spring via Hezekiah’s Tunnel. King Hezekiah constructed a tunnel to reroute the spring’s waters to west Jerusalem during the siege of Sennacherib King of Assyria in 701 BC. This ensured Jerusalem would have a protected water source within the city walls. Without this tunnel, the spring was located outside the city, leaving Jerusalem vulnerable during enemy attacks. The spring’s waters were redirected through the tunnel and collected in the Pool of Siloam.
4. Jesus sent a blind man to wash in its waters
In John 9:7, after Jesus made mud with his saliva to spread on the blind man’s eyes, he told him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So the man went and washed and came back seeing.” Jesus sent the blind man to the pool’s waters to complete the healing process. The man’s act of obedience in going, washing, and returning enabled him to receive his sight. The name “Siloam” means “sent,” reminding us that it was Jesus who sent him there to heal him.
5. Jesus used the collapse of the pool’s tower as an illustration
In Luke 13:4-5, Jesus referenced an event where eighteen people died when the tower of Siloam collapsed. He used this disaster to illustrate that tragic events do not necessarily happen because of people’s sins. Just as the tower collapse was an accident, not the result of the victims’ sins, sometimes bad things happen without cause. Jesus warned his listeners that they, too, would perish if they did not repent of their sins. Most importantly, Jesus conveyed that they should focus less on finding causes for calamities and more on examining their own hearts and repenting.
6. Jews would ritually bathe or baptize there
The Pool of Siloam was used for Jewish ritual washing and immersion. Numerous Jewish pilgrims would perform purification rites there during religious feasts. When John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing people in the Jordan River, the priests and Levites questioned his authority to baptize (John 1:24-28). John replied that he was merely baptizing with water, but the true Messiah would bring a greater spiritual baptism. This contrasted John’s physical, ritual baptisms at the Jordan with the inward, transforming baptism Jesus would perform in people’s hearts through the Holy Spirit.
7. It provided water for Jerusalem
Throughout Jerusalem’s history, having a protected water source was essential for withstanding sieges during times of war. Hezekiah’s tunnel ensured the Gihon Spring’s waters reached the Pool of Siloam within the city walls (2 Kings 20:20). This provided the people of Jerusalem with a steady supply of water that invaders could not easily cut off, bolstering the city’s defenses. Even during peacetime, the Pool of Siloam served as an important reservoir and supplied water for drinking, cleaning, irrigation, and religious purposes. It was a major reason Jerusalem could thrive despite its semi-arid climate and lack of a major river.
8. The pool was located outside Jerusalem’s original walls
Archaeological evidence indicates the Pool of Siloam was originally constructed during the reign of King Hezekiah in the 8th century BC. At that time, the pool was located in the lower city, just outside the original walls of Jerusalem. The pool marked Jerusalem’s southern boundary and was integrated into the expanded fortifications built by Hezekiah (Isaiah 22:11). This means when it was first built, the Pool of Siloam was in a vulnerable position, requiring Hezekiah’s tunnel to bring the Gihon Spring’s waters to it.
In the 1st century AD during Jesus’ time, the pool was within the southern wall of the City of David, Jerusalem’s fortified southern sector. So while outside the oldest part of Jerusalem, by then it was an integral part of the city’s defenses that gave inhabitants access to water and other amenities.
9. The pool had five porches where people congregated
John 5:2 mentions that the Pool of Siloam had five porches. Archaeologists have discovered remains of what appear to be porches or portico structures near the pool’s site. Likelythese provided shelter from the sun and rain where sick people could rest while waiting for the waters to be stirred. Jesus encountered the disabled man lying on one of these porches. The five porches enabled larger crowds to be near the water, which was especially important during festivals when Jewish pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem and sites like the Pool of Siloam.
10. Jesus referenced the pool as Siloam, not the Pool of Shelah
Some scholars link the Pool of Siloam to the “Pool of Shelah” mentioned in Nehemiah 3:15. However, this connection is debated. The name “Siloam” mentioned by Jesus in John 9:7 simply means “sent.” Nowhere does the New Testament refer to it as the Pool of Shelah. Additionally, the Pool of Shelah appears to be a different pool located further north. So evidence suggests the Pool of Siloam referenced in the New Testament was a different site than the Old Testament Pool of Shelah.
In summary, while playing a practical role providing water in Jerusalem, the Pool of Siloam held deeper spiritual significance in Jesus’ ministry. It was a place of miraculous healing that displayed Jesus’ compassion and power. The events there pointed to eternal truths about sin, repentance, obedience, and who Jesus was – the divine Son of God and Messiah sent by the Father.