Just below the south wall of Israel’s Temple Mount is Mount Zion. Ancient Jerusalem was founded on this long and very steep hill. These days it’s a boisterous Palestinian district. In 715 BC, Hezekiah ascended to the throne of Judah, reigning in “David’s City” about 30 years. Widely acknowledged as one of Israel’s three finest kings, he preserved his country’s independence in the face of hostile Assyrian and Babylonian powers. Hezekiah knew well that Jerusalem’s Gihon Springs (Heb. gushing) were outside the city walls. If a besieging army captured this reliable but intermittent water supply, the city would fall by starvation. Something had to be done. Hezekiah ordered the springs to be covered by massive boulders. Additionally, he ordered the springs’ gushing waters to be diverted into the mountain to reach the lower city. Two teams excavating at opposite ends were to converge in the mountain’s interior. Over four years of backbreaking labor with iron chisels and picks (cf Sirach 48:17), the king’s engineers carved a meandering conduit through Mount Zion’s solid rock. The king accomplished the unthinkable. Hezekiah’s Tunnel connects the Gihon Springs on the high crest above to the Pool of Siloam at the hill’s foot; its shaft is 1,750 feet long, 6 - 7 feet tall and 2 - 3 feet wide. Taking a break from biblical studies on a livid hot July afternoon in 1992, I exited through Jerusalem’s Dung Gate and hiked through the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of David’s City to locate the Pool of Siloam. Entering the mountain tunnel there, I headed upstream in pitch black against the fast-moving flow. One thought kept me focused -- keeping my face above the frigid water and my “torch” (flashlight) dry. Finally, dazzling light ahead signaled my success in reaching the springs. Sun-blinded, however, I face planted a rusty iron grate arched across the Gihon cave entrance. My next adventure? To find bandages for my nose. Father Barker
Just below the south wall of Israel’s Temple Mount is Mount Zion. Ancient Jerusalem was founded on this long and very steep hill. These days it’s a boisterous Palestinian district. In 715 BC, Hezekiah ascended to the throne of Judah, reigning in “David’s City” about 30 years. Widely acknowledged as one of Israel’s three finest kings, he preserved his country’s independence in the face of hostile Assyrian and Babylonian powers. Hezekiah knew well that Jerusalem’s Gihon Springs (Heb. gushing) were outside the city walls. If a besieging army captured this reliable but intermittent water supply, the city would fall by starvation. Something had to be done.