The Pool of SiloamChapter 9 of John's Gospel, verses 1-11, record how Jesus heals a man who had been born blind. He does this by spitting on the ground, making mud with the saliva, smearing it on the man's eyes. Then he tells the man to go and wash in a pool called 'Siloam'. The man washes the mud off, and regains his sight. The pool of Siloam was (and still is) a real place in Jerusalem, at the southern end of the tunnel that king Hezekiah built to bring water into the city when it was under threat of being beseiged by the Assyrians. in 'The Historical reliability of John's Gospel' (page 152), Craig Blomberg says: Archaeologists have even more confidence about having identified the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem than they do about the pool of Bethesda. Originally part of Hezekiah's tunnel (2 Kings chapter 20 verse 20, 2 Chronicles chapter 32 verse 30), Siloam was excavated in 1880, complete with an inscription enabling its identification. For more about the pool of Siloam and Hezekiah's tunnel, see page 126 of 'Discoveries from Bible Times', by Professor Alan Millard |
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What's new on the site?'The Passion of the Christ'Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' ignited strong feelings even before it was released, with some Christian and Jewish groups accusing it of anti-Semitism, while Churches block-booked tickets. Our review page has links to a wide range of resources, both for those who see the film and have questions, and for followers of Christ who want to make the most of the opportunity this film represents. Read more... Have scientists created life?The belief that scientists have succeeded in creating life from lifeless matter has become part of our current mythology. Yet the Miller-Urey experiment, on which this belief is based, never proved as much as was claimed for it, and is now regarded as seriously flawed. Read more... |
