Unfolding project to unearth Pool of Siloam and its surroundings
By Jack Davis, The Western Journal
Steps leading to the Pool of Siloam, where the Bible explains that Jesus sent a man born blind to wash after he was healed, have been excavated in an unfolding project to unearth the pool and its surroundings.
The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority and the City of David Foundation began excavations to build upon discoveries made in 2004.
Archeologists have now revealed eight steps descending into the pool, according to Fox News.”The ongoing excavations within the City of David — the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem — particularly of the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem,” Ze’ev Orenstein, director of International Affairs for the City of David Foundation said, noting the excavations allow the Bible to be embraced “not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact.”
“The half-mile running through the City of David, from the Pool of Siloam in the south, continuing along the Pilgrimage Road, up to the footsteps of the Western Wall, Southern Steps and Temple Mount, represents the most significant half-mile on the planet,” Orenstein said.
“There is no half-mile anywhere on Earth which means more to more people — not to millions, but to billions — than the half-mile that is the City of David,” he said.
American Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, noted the significance of the pool, according to Fox News“The Pool of Siloam’s excavation is highly significant to Christians around the world. 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,” he said.