Hezekiah’s Tunnel Inscription
A stone inscription called the Siloam inscription was found on the wall of the tunnel and tells us about how the tunnel was built
the inscription mentioned: [[…] [end] of the tunnel. And this is the story of the tunnel. While […] the axes clashed and three cubits remained to be hewn… a man’s voice called to his counterpart, for there was zada in the rock, to the right [and to the left]. And on the day the tunnel was finished, the stonemasons took turns striking each other, axe against axe, and water flowed from the spring to the basin for a distance of 1200 cubits. The height above the heads of the stonemasons was [100?] cubits.
The Siloam inscription is incredibly important because it connects the biblical story of Hezekiah with a real historical artifact. It is considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Israel because it gives us a direct link between the Bible and ancient history
Hezekiah’s Tunnel Inscription is also called the Siloam Inscription. This is a reconstruction of an original Paleo-Hebrew text carved on a rock face at the lower entrance to Hezekiah’s Tunnel, south of the Temple in Jerusalem. Hezekiah reigned from 715 to 687 BC. See 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30.
In 701 BC Senacherib, King of Assyria had attacked the northern cities of Israel and Judah and was on his way to Jerusalem. King Hezekiah needed to secure the walls of the city and ensure adequate supplies of food and water. Outside the city walls lay the Gihon spring, a ready supply of water, but if he could both hide the spring from the Assyrians and somehow access these waters, he could secure the city. He sent his men to extend the walls to enclose the spring from view of the Assyrians and had two teams’ tunnel from opposite directions, following natural clefts in the rock to produce a winding tunnel that would bring the waters from without to the Pool of Siloam within. The project was successful and ensured the security of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Senacherib failed to encroach on Jerusalem and went home defeated and empty handed. The Inscription was carved on the wall of the tunnel 20 feet from the southern end. It records the efforts of the tunnels and how they managed to join the tunnel from both ends. Why is Hezekiah’s inscription tunnel so important? Not only does it show the advanced engineering skills of the ancient Israelites but it also connects to the Bible in 2Ki 20:20 which says: (The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?)