SILOAM INSCRIPTION
The Siloam Inscription is a pivotal archaeological artifact. It was engraved on a rock wall in the lower entrance to Hezekiah's tunnel south of the temple in Jerusalem. Hezekiah reigned from 715 to 687 B.C. See 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30.
Historical Context
The inscription dates to 701 BCE during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, who commissioned the tunnel to channel water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city walls ahead of an Assyrian siege (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30). This engineering feat ensured Jerusalem’s survival during military attacks and is celebrated in both biblical texts and archaeological records
Content and Translation
The six-line inscription, written in Paleo-Hebrew script, describes the tunnel’s construction: [.. when] (the tunnel) was driven through. And this was the way in which it was cut through: While [...] (were) still [...] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellow, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head(s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits.