And this is the story of the tunnel. King Hezekiah desiring to protect Jerusalem from the Assyrians had a tunnel cut through solid rock to bring water from the Spring of Gihon within the cities walls, after which the Spring was sealed off. Large groups of Israelites had fled the northern kingdom because of the Assyrians. This is the same Gihon where Zadok anointed Solomon as king of Israel (1 Kings 1:38ff). The Siloam Inscription is a description in ancient Hebrew of the cutting and completion of the Siloam Tunnel built by king Hezekiah (727-698 BC). How Charles Warren Documented Hezekiah’s Tunnel. 2700 years ago, under threat of siege, King Hezekiah of Judah completed one of the engineering marvels of the ancient world. Recognizing its significance, the Ottomans removed the inscription and placed it in a museum in Istanbul where it remains today. This is Hezekiah’s Tunnel and The Pool of Siloam. Biblical Significance 2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30 Descriptions of Hezekiah’s construction of the tunnel John 9 describes Jesus’ healing of a blind man at the Pool of Siloam, the end point of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Hezekiah took steps to fortify Jerusalem against a siege, one of which was to build a 1,750-foot long tunnel to provide a secret water supply. This engineering feat was accomplished by digging a 1,750-foot (533 meter) tunnel into the mountain. An ancient stone carving found near the entrance describes the incredible operation. This circumstance made the city of David vulnerable to hostile attack. Hezekiah's Tunnel (the blue stream running underground) was a tunnel chipped out by Hezekiah's men around the year 701 BC. The pool was fed by a tunnel Hezekiah cut through almost 2,000 feet of solid rock from the … Today, trekking through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in knee-high water and learning about its … The Pool of Siloam was built by King Hezekiah in the 8th century BC (2 Kings 20:20) in order to provide water to Jerusalem, even in the event that the city were besieged. Although it made sense that a tunnel connected the pool of Siloam to the Gihon spring, only in 1866 Captain Charles Warren took the daring challenge of swimming through a tunnel that seemed to connect the two, with knowing whether it is ventilated enough. In ancient times the Gihon Spring, located in the Kidron valley east of Jerusalem and outside the city wall, was the major source of water for the holy city. Hezekiah’s Tunnel is about 2 feet wide and 5 feet high at the entrance near the Gihon Springs, as seen in this photo. Archaeologists have excavated the tunnel under the city of David . The primary source of water for the city of Jerusalem is the Spring of Gihon (or “En-gihon” meaning “gushing” – see map). Water flowed from the spring along Hezekiah’s Tunnel to the Siloam Pool. The inscription was written in Biblical Hebrew and describes the completion of Hezekiah tunnel. Notice the fresh water still moving through this tunnel as it has for 2,700 years. They moved to Jerusalem. “Hezekiah’s Tunnel was built by King Hezekiah before 701 BCE, when it helped Jerusalem to survive the siege by King Sennacherib of Assyria,” Rubin says. The pick marks of Hezekiah’s workers are still visible on the rock walls and ceiling of this 1,750 foot tunnel. “It is a tunnel cut in the rock beneath the City of David leading water from the Gihon to the Siloam Pool [a freshwater reservoir fed by the tunnel].” Hezekiah’s Tunnel By Wayne Jackson.