Siloams

Siloams refers to multiple uses of the name Siloam, derived from Hebrew Shiloah or Shiloam meaning “sent.” The most prominent use is the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, a water reservoir in the City of David described in the Hebrew Bible. The pool was fed by the Gihon Spring through a channel known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel or the Siloam Tunnel, and it served as a water source in ancient times. In the New Testament, the Pool of Siloam is noted in the Gospel of John as the place where Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth.

Archaeological work in Jerusalem has located remains associated with the ancient pool, its enclosures, and portions of the waterworks from the Second Temple period. The site is of interest to scholars of biblical history, archaeology, and religious studies.

Beyond Jerusalem, Siloam is used as a place name in various parts of the world, especially in the United States, where towns or communities have adopted the name. These uses are typically named in reference to the biblical pool or biblical geography and may be unrelated to the Jerusalem site. In contemporary usage, Siloams may appear in religious contexts, historical writing, and as geographic toponyms.

Siloams as a term thus denotes a biblical toponym, its archaeological remnants, and the set of places and communities that bear the name.