Fountain of Siloam
See also: Siloam (hamlet).
Fountain feeding a basin (or pool). The birth Confessiongle will wash there. It was located near the Siloam tower accidentally destroyed as reported by the Gospel[1].
Description
The fountain of Siloam
The fountain of Siloam is a convenient meeting point:"Jesus joined the ten Apostles and the main Disciples at the foot of the Mount of Olives, near the fountain of Siloam. When they see Jesus coming quickly between Peter and John, they go to meet him, and it is precisely near the fountain that they gather"[2].It is at this place that Jesus sends a blind man, so that he may recover his sight[3]. "And now, go as quickly as possible to the pool of Siloam, without stopping to talk to anyone"[4]. Through this "distant" healing, Jesus foils a trap set by Judas on a Sabbath day to draw the Master's anger from the Pharisees.
The destroyed tower of Siloam
During the Feast of Tabernacles of the second year, Jesus again exhorts his listeners to conversion and recalls:"These eighteen also, on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, were not the most guilty in Jerusalem"[5]The text by Maria Valtorta says nothing more about this tower and the accident than what is reported by Saint Luke[6]. Nothing is indicated about the exact location of this tower. However, its designation (tower of Siloam) suggests that it was located southeast of the Ophel neighborhood.
Key facts
Place of healing of Sidonia (Sidoine), the birth Confessiongle[4].
Its name
Fountain of Siloam, Siloam, Silwân. The name "Siloam" comes from the Hebrew "Shiloah" (שִׁלֹוחַ), which means "sent" or "conducted," as confirmed by the Gospel which plays on the wordplay: Sent (by God) and sent through a conduit[3]. The pool (or basin) of Siloam was fed by a canal capturing the waters of the Gihon spring.
Where is it mentioned in the work?
GRM 281. GRM 510.
Learn more about this place
This basin, built around the 7th century BC, south of the Ophel hill, was intended to supply water to Jerusalem. At the time of Christ, it was an important basin measuring 60 m x 50 m. It was destroyed during the capture of Jerusalem. "The Romans drove the brigands out of the lower city and burned everything up to the fountain of Siloam"[7].
Explore
- 31° 46’ 13’’ N / 35° 14’ 06’’ E /
- +640m
Notes and references
Note: Quotations from the work of Maria Valtorta on this page currently use machine-translated text and will gradually be replaced by the official English translation. Until then, the official translation may be consulted through the reference link provided with each quotation.
- ↑ Article partially written from the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel, J.-F. LAVÈRE.
- ↑ GRM 495.1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 John 9:1-7.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 GRM 510.1.
- ↑ GRM 281.15.
- ↑ Luke 13:2-5
- ↑ Flavius Josephus, The War of the Jews, Book 6, § 2.