The pool is believed to be the inner pool of Siloam to the southwest of the ancient City of David, and the conduit, the famous Siloam tunnel. Water was brought from the Gihon in the Kidron Valley. The tunnel was termed Shiloah or Siloam, meaning “sent,” or “conducted,” and the reservoir was the pool of Siloam (John 9:7). The tunnel was 1,749 ft. (533 m.) in length.

In 1880 an interesting inscription was discovered on the walls of this tunnel, written in Hebrew, and thought to belong to the time of Hezekiah. It tells how the workmen beginning at both ends and excavating toward each other, finally met in the center. The achievement of Hezekiah’s engineers was an amazing device whereby a supply of water was insured to the residents of the city in time of siege. Comparable tunnels are found at Gezer and Megiddo. For a translation of the Siloam inscription see p. 87.