Known as 'the Pool of Siloam' for generations until the original pool [where Jesus sent the blind man from birth to get healed (John 9)] was discovered accidentally in 2oo4. The Pool of Siloam is regarded sacred by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The pool's waters were considered so pure that, some believed even a leper could get purified by just immersing in its waters.
Jews used water from the pool for purification rituals and would immerse themselves every three times a year in the pool before heading down the adjacent stone pathway to the Jerusalem Temple. Some assume that the pool was used as a mikvah (Jewish ritual bath). The pool was used by Jews until the year 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple. It was probably the site of the pagan Shrine of the Four Nymphs built by Hadrian in 135 AD.
For Christians, it is the place where the blind man was told to go and wash as Jesus had spat on the ground and mixed His saliva with the mud, which he put on the blind man’s eyes (John 9). The pool was mentioned as early as 333 AD by the Bordeaux pilgrim as having four porches. A church was built next to the traditional Siloam Pool by the empress Eudocia around 450 AD, which was destroyed by the Persians in 614 AD. One can still find the remains of the Church near the traditional pool. In the 1890s, Muslims built a mosque next to the pool, which still stands today.
Jews used water from the pool for purification rituals and would immerse themselves every three times a year in the pool before heading down the adjacent stone pathway to the Jerusalem Temple. Some assume that the pool was used as a mikvah (Jewish ritual bath). The pool was used by Jews until the year 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple. It was probably the site of the pagan Shrine of the Four Nymphs built by Hadrian in 135 AD.
For Christians, it is the place where the blind man was told to go and wash as Jesus had spat on the ground and mixed His saliva with the mud, which he put on the blind man’s eyes (John 9). The pool was mentioned as early as 333 AD by the Bordeaux pilgrim as having four porches. A church was built next to the traditional Siloam Pool by the empress Eudocia around 450 AD, which was destroyed by the Persians in 614 AD. One can still find the remains of the Church near the traditional pool. In the 1890s, Muslims built a mosque next to the pool, which still stands today.
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