Siloam inscription

The Siloam inscription or Silwan inscription is a passage of inscribed text in the Hezekiah tunnel that feeds water to the Pool of Siloam in East Jerusalem , among the oldest extant record of the kind written in Hebrew . The passage reads: "The tunneling was completed... While the hewers wielded the ax, each man toward his fellow... there was heard a man's voice calling to his fellow... the hewers hacked each toward the other, ax against ax, and the water flowed from the spring to the pool, a distance of 1,200 cubits..." According to Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), in 1880, while wading up the conduit by which the water enters the pool, a youth discovered the inscription cut in the rock on the eastern side, about 19 feet from the pool. The Siloam inscription was surreptitiously cut from the wall of the tunnel in 1891 and broken into fragments. These were, however, recovered by the efforts of the British Consul at Jerusalem , and have been placed in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul . Some have argued that the inscription was cut in the time of Solomon ; others, with more probability, refer it to the reign of Hezekiah . A more ancient tunnel was discovered in 1889 some 20 feet below the ground. It is of smaller dimensions, but more direct in its course. It is to this tunnel that Isaiah 8:6 probably refers. v t e

Photo of reconstruction Hezekiah's tunnel Lower Siloam pool The Siloam (Shiloach) inscription or Silwan inscription ( in reference to Jerusalem neighborhood called Silwan ) is a passage of inscribed text originally found in the Hezekiah tunnel (which feeds water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam in East Jerusalem ). The tunnel was discovered in 1838 by Edward Robinson (so Amihai Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible [1990] 484). The inscription records the construction of the tunnel in the 8th century BCE. It is among the oldest extant records of its kind written in Hebrew using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . Traditionally identified as a "commemorative inscription", it has also been classified as a votive offering inscription.

As displayed at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums Copy of the inscription in Hezekiah's Tunnel, 2010 The Shiloah (Siloam) inscription (כתובת השילוח) or Silwan inscription is a passage of inscribed text found in the Siloam tunnel which brings water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam , located in the City of David in East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shiloah or " Silwan ". The inscription records the construction of the tunnel, which has been dated to the 8th century BCE on the basis of the writing style . It is the only known ancient inscription from the wider region which commemorates a public construction work, despite such inscriptions being commonplace in Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeology. It is among the oldest extant records of its kind written in Hebrew using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , a regional variant of the Phoenician alphabet . Its association with the tunnel has been interpreted to provide evidence for the ancient Biblical narrative. The inscription is at permanent exhibition at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum . The inscription itself, on the other hand, does not tell us this. It is only a secondary source, which in this case may be right but which can also be wrong, because nobody can really say on the basis of this anonymous inscription whether it was Hezekiah or some other Judean king from the eighth or seventh century who constructed the tunnel. As it stands, it is the only clear example of an inscription from either Israel or Judah commemorating a public construction work. As such it is a poor companion to similar inscriptions not least from Egypt and Mesopotamia." "Siloam Inscription" .

As displayed at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums Copy of the inscription, placed near the original position inside Hezekiah's Tunnel, 2010 The Siloam inscription or Shiloah inscription (כתובת השילוח) or Silwan inscription , known as KAI 189, is a passage of inscribed text found in the Siloam tunnel which brings water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam , located in the City of David in East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shiloah or Silwan . The inscription records the construction of the tunnel, which has been dated to the 8th century BCE on the basis of the writing style . It is the only known ancient inscription from the wider region which commemorates a public construction work, despite such inscriptions being commonplace in Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeology. It is among the oldest extant records of its kind written in Hebrew using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , a regional variant of the Phoenician alphabet . The inscription is at permanent exhibition at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum . The inscription itself, on the other hand, does not tell us this. It is only a secondary source, which in this case may be right but which can also be wrong, because nobody can really say on the basis of this anonymous inscription whether it was Hezekiah or some other Judean king from the eighth or seventh century who constructed the tunnel. As it stands, it is the only clear example of an inscription from either Israel or Judah commemorating a public construction work. As such it is a poor companion to similar inscriptions not least from Egypt and Mesopotamia." "Siloam Inscription" .

Hebrew inscription This article is about the inscription found in the Siloam tunnel. The Siloam inscription , Silwan inscription or Shiloah inscription ( Hebrew : כתובת השילוח ), known as KAI 189, is a Hebrew inscription found in the Siloam tunnel which brings water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam , located in the City of David in East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan ("Siloam" in the Bible). The inscription records the construction of the tunnel, which has been dated to the 8th century BC on the basis of the writing style . It is the only known ancient inscription from ancient Israel and Judah which commemorates a public construction work, despite such inscriptions being commonplace in Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeology. It is among the oldest extant records of its kind written in Hebrew using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , a regional variant of the Phoenician alphabet . The inscription is part of the collections of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum . The inscription itself, on the other hand, does not tell us this. It is only a secondary source, which in this case may be right but which can also be wrong, because nobody can really say on the basis of this anonymous inscription whether it was Hezekiah or some other Judean king from the eighth or seventh century who constructed the tunnel. As it stands, it is the only clear example of an inscription from either Israel or Judah commemorating a public construction work. As such it is a poor companion to similar inscriptions not least from Egypt and Mesopotamia." "Siloam Inscription" .