Shiloam

Shiloam is a biblical toponym used to refer to water-related features in Jerusalem, most prominently the Pool of Siloam. The name appears in various spellings in English translations, including Shiloah and Siloam. It is associated with ancient waterworks that supplied the city.

Etymology and usage of the name derive from Hebrew Shiloah (Shiloam), with the meaning commonly linked to “the sent (one)” or “the sending.” In biblical and historical texts, Shiloam/Shiloah denotes both a spring or stream and a cultivated water pool.

In biblical texts, the Shiloah brook is mentioned in connection with Jerusalem’s water system, notably in 2 Chronicles 32:30, which references Hezekiah’s tunnel and the waters of Shiloah. The Pool of Siloam is described in the Gospel of John (John 9) as the site where Jesus instructed a blind man to wash, leading to his sight. The pool was fed by water conveyed from the Gihon Spring via the Siloam tunnel, part of the broader Judaean hydraulic works constructed to secure Jerusalem’s water supply.

Archaeology and location: The Pool of Siloam is identified with a pool excavated on the southeastern edge of the ancient city, near what later became known as the City of David. Excavations and research have reinforced its association with the water-channel system that brought spring water to the pool, linking it to Jerusalem’s ancient waterworks from the Second Temple period and the earlier Hezekian undertakings.

See also: Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Gihon Spring.