The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 5

(eco Tholuck, Wettstein, Lnnge, in loc.). moo, e.n,I that the proceeding of Hezekiah, 'l'heso 1dee.s mo.y hove hnd eomo truth in referred to in 2 Chron. xxxii. 30, when ho them, nnd for the blind mnn to find the ~iverted the we.ter from Gihon, and brought procoee described, applied to himself by One 1t to the west side of the ciLy of David, was who epoko of the Divine operations being not on e.ccount (as Edersheim, Canon Birch, wrought in him, would work some powerful e.nd others) of the formation of the zigzf\g r.ffect on hie moral, physical, o.nd spiritual tunnel from the Fountain of tho Virgin, but n11.ture. Such result our Lord intended to referred to the forme.tion of Colonel Warren'3 produco. But this wus only po.rt of the tunnel, by which the waters of the same hen.ling process. fountain were made available within the city Ver. 7.-And, h11.ving done this, he said to by dre.wing them further to the north-west, him, Go-depart, haste, there is eomething and ree.ching them by a flight of sta.irs that for thee to do-we.eh into the pool of Siloam. go down from the city of David (2 King.; xx. :!17'.wdµ: this is tho Greek form of the 20). He thinks that 2 Chron. xxxii. 30 i3 Hebrew word riiS•.t'('}i:i~, with the e.rticle interpreted of the lower pool of Siloam. The n',r.i;i, the shortened Pihel form n,111, to send contemporary references of Isaiah (vii. 3; viii. 6: xxii. 9) apply only to the s;Joam Corti~. with the omission of the. dagesh) tunnel, the Siloam pool, e.nd that lower pool, o.dopted in Ian. viii. 6 by the LXX., rmd which was repairecl by Hezekie.h. The e.leo by Josephus(' Bell. Jud.,' v. 4.1). The upper pool, e.nd therefore the tunnel which only other place in the Old Testament supplied it, were known in the time of Ahaz. where the pool of Siioam is referred to is J osephns me.kes frequent reference to the Neh. iii. 15. There the Hebrew word is founte.in of Siloarn, e.nd expressly says that nSi;;,, and rendered by the LXX. Tow 1Cw5lo,v- it was eitne.ted e.t the mouth of the Tvro• ;,_~_-, of sheep-skins ; the.t is, the pool the.t was pmon. The 'Hin. Hier.' e.nd Jerome both used to wash sheep before she11.ring them, or so.y the.t it was at the foot of Mount Zion even the tan-pit (so Schleusner and Hesych.) (see especially Jerome's • Comm. in Esa. -but it is rendered by Siloii in the Vulge.te. viii. 6 '). Antoninus Martyr (in the seventh Isainh is contre.sting the waters of the Shi- century), Willie.m of Tyre, Benjamin of loah, which flow softly, with the turbulent Tudela (1165), e.nd Phocas (1185), all refer streams of the Tigris, whioh represented the to it. This remarkable connection with the pomp U:nd power of this world. The sweet Fonnte.in of Me.ry was known to Qnaresmius waters from the pool of Siloe.m still flow from in the seventeenth century, but not fairly their e.pparent source through what once were discovered till Robinson entered it a.t both the king's gardens, into the Kedron near the ends, o.nd found the.t there was a direct junction of the Ve.Hey of Jehoshaphat with subterre.nean communication between the that which used to be culled the Volley of so-called Fonnte.in of the Virgin and the the Son of Hinnom. Silwe.n is the Aro.bio Fountain of Siloum. In 18S1 the accidental no.me of the founto.in e.nd pool of Siloe.m, e.nd discovery of e.n inscription in pure Hebrew, e.lso of the ville.ge on the opposite side of of uncertain date, describes tlle process of the valley. Nehemie.h is referring, in e.11 the excarntion, e.nd e.ccounts for the false probability, to the so.me pool, the we.lie of starts me.de by the two pe.rties of excavators, which were in po.rt the walls of the city itself who eventuallv met a.nd discovered the dif- on the lower spur of Mount Ophel, which is ferent levels ti.t which they had been work- now finally determined to be the Zion of ing. Whenever made, whether by Solomon, Scripture e.nd the city of De.vid. A "tower Uzzie.h, Ahe.z, or Hezekiah, it we.s obviously of Siloam" is also spoken of (Luke xiii. 4). intended to b:ing fresh wnter within the It is not necessary here to review the e.rgu- we.lie of the city. The intermittent charac- ments in fe.vour of this position, with its ac- ter of the flow of water in the Fountuin of companying conclusion that the Tyropmon, the Virgin, by which sometimes twice or the volley of the cheesemongers, which ee- thrice e. de.y, e.ud e.t other seasons twice or pe.rated Ophel o.nd tho temple-mount from thrice a. week, the water suddenly rise3 an<i the upper city, was the Valley of the Son of di:inppeo.rs with gurgling sounds into thi, Hinnom (see 'Survey of Western Pales- conduits me.de for its remova.l, wns referred tine,' pt. ii. pp. 345-371; Professor Sayce on to by J erom3, a.s an eye a.ud ear witnes3 of "Pre-Exilio J eruso.lem" in' Qunrterly State- the occurrence. We leave the question of ment of Palest. Explor. Fund' (1883), pp. the identi.fioe.tion of the Fountain of the Vir- 215; o.nd 'Fresh Light from Ancient Mom1- gin with any of the fountains mentioned in mente,' p. 98, etc.). The posit\.on of the the Old Testa.ment. The point of singular fountain e.nd pool of Siloam is one of the interest is the.t the wa.ters of Siloum were beet-authenticated sites in Palestine (see in direot communication with the upper Robinson's • Biblical Researches,' i. 493- spring, which itself me.y be yet proved to be 607). S11yce gives strong reasons for believ- in rele.tion to some more llbnndant supply of ing th1:1t it was mllde in the d11ys of Solo- we.ter in the temple-rock. Into the fwtb.e,:  THE GOSPEL ACOORDING TO ST. JOHN. (on. 1x. 1-41.