Bible Dictionaries
Siloam

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ssih loh' uhm) Greek place name possibly derived from Hebrew, “Shiloah,” meaning, “sending.” Place easily confused with the waters of Shiloah mentioned in Isaiah 8:6 , through similarity of spelling. Siloam was the pool created by Hezekiah's tunnel which diverted the waters of Shiloah from the Siloam Spring to a point less vulnerable to the Assyrian enemy. It was located on the southern end of the old Jebusite city of Jerusalem. See Jerusalem . Thus, Siloam is to be distinguished from the King's Pool mentioned in Nehemiah 3:15 . See King's Pool . Hezekiah's inscription preserved on the tunnel wall describes the meeting of tunnel builders boring through rock from each end of the tunnel.

John 9:7 ,John 9:7,9:11 uses the etymological significance of the term Siloam for a play on words to press the point that the blind man was sent to Siloah by one who was Himself the One who was sent. To gain his sight, the blind man went to and obeyed the One who was sent. Luke 13:4 is a reference more to an unknown tower at Siloam than to Siloam. The tower may have been an aborted effort to protect the water supply. The theological issue of Luke 13:1 does not hinge on the geographical issue of Siloam.

The pool, created by Hezekiah and known by Jesus is still a source of water today.

John R. Drayer