For the river in Genesis, see Gihon. For the Jerusalem waterworks comapany, see Hagihon. For the Okinawan king, see Gihon (Ryukyu).
Gihon Spring
Fountain of the Virgin
Illustration of Gihon Spring ("Upper Fountain of Siloam") in David Roberts' The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia
Location
Jerusalem
Eruption height
636 m
Gihon Spring (Hebrew: מעיין הגיחון) or Fountain of the Virgin,[1] also known as Saint Mary's Pool,[2] is a spring in the Kidron Valley. It was the main source of water for the Pool of Siloam in Jebus and the later City of David, the original site of Jerusalem.
One of the world's major intermittent springs – and a reliable water source that made human settlement possible in ancient Jerusalem – the spring was not only used for drinking water, but also initially for irrigation of gardens in the adjacent Kidron Valley, which provided a food source for the ancient settlement.
Gihon Spring
Kidron Valley
City of David
Temple Mount
Pool of Siloam
Model of historical City of David in the Israel Museum
The spring rises in a cave 20 feet by 7,[3] and is located 586 yards (535 m) northwards of the Pool of Siloam.[2] Being intermittent, it required the excavation of the Pool of Siloam, which stored the large amount of water needed for the town when the spring was not flowing. Before the sinking of the water table due to overpumping in modern times, the spring used to flow three to five times daily in winter, twice daily in summer, and only once daily in autumn. This peculiarity is accounted for by the supposition that the outlet from the reservoir is by a passage in the form of a siphon.[3] It has the largest output of water in the area – 600,000 cubic meters of water a year (compared to 125,000 cubic meters for the Lifta spring in West Jerusalem.[4]
The spring is under the control of the Israeli settler organization Ir David Foundation ("El'ad");[5] it is sometimes used by Jewish men as a sort of ritual bath (mikvah).[6]
^Berrett, Lamar C. (April 1996). Discovering the World of the Bible. ISBN 9780910523523.
^ abA.H. Sayce, "The Inscription at the Pool of Siloam", Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement 13.2 (April 1881): (editio princeps), p. 72
^ abEaston's Bible Dictionary 1897
^Planned Western Wall train will threaten historic Jerusalem spring, report says, Haaretz
^"Archaeology and the struggle for Jerusalem". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 2010-02-05.
^Nir Hasson, "Settler organization granted control over spring in East Jerusalem", Haaretz, 12 June 2012
GihonSpring (Hebrew: מעיין הגיחון) or Fountain of the Virgin, also known as Saint Mary's Pool, is a spring in the Kidron Valley. It was the main source...
origin in the late 9th or early 8th century BC. The tunnel leads from the GihonSpring to the Pool of Siloam. If indeed built under Hezekiah, it dates to a...
Jerusalem to the southeast. The pools were fed by the waters of the GihonSpring, carried there by the Siloam Tunnel. The Lower Pool or "Old Pool" was...
Hebrew inscription found in the Siloam tunnel which brings water from the GihonSpring to the Pool of Siloam, located in the City of David in East Jerusalem...
theory." The Intermittent Spring in Wyoming, mentioned above, is the largest rhythmic spring in the world. The GihonSpring in the City of David in Jerusalem...
Assyrian Empire by improving the city walls and diverting the waters of the GihonSpring through a tunnel known today as Hezekiah's Tunnel, which channeled the...
list of springs. Baotu Spring, Jinan, Shandong, China ("City of Springs") GihonSpring, Jerusalem Wolmyeongdong Spring, South Korea Al-Hasa Springs, Saudi...
on the existence of only one perennial water source in the area, the GihonSpring, and on archaeological excavations revealing sections of the Bronze Age...
except for the GihonSpring). Ever since its discovery in the 19th century, Warren's Shaft, part of a system which connects the spring to the city, has...
sources of historical importance, such as the Pool of Siloam (Ain Silwan), GihonSpring and Ein Rogel. The rest of the village was built in the 19th century...
Archaeological evidence suggests that the first settlement was established near GihonSpring between 3000 and 2800 BCE. The first known mention of the city was in...
least two aqueducts are known to have carried water to the pool from the GihonSpring, but these aqueducts were built into the ground, not on elevated viaducts...
recaptured 44 times. 4500–3500 BC: First settlement established near GihonSpring (earliest archaeological evidence). c. 2000 BCE: First known mention...
(described in 1 Kings:1) where, at David's direction, he is anointed at the GihonSpring and rides his father's donkey into the city to the acclaim of the people...
in order to provide Jerusalem underground access to the waters of the GihonSpring or Siloam Pool, which lay outside the city. The Siloam Inscription from...
Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the GihonSpring, was, according to the Bible, named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion"...
pp. 21–26. Reich, R., & Shukron, E. (2000). "The Excavations at the GihonSpring and Warren's Shaft System in the City of David." Ancient Jerusalem Revealed...
location of the biblical millo in the fortified area surrounding the GihonSpring. Blank, W., Bible Study – The Millo Archived 2014-02-26 at the Wayback...
apparently refers to the Pool of Siloam whose water supply came from the GihonSpring via Hezekiah's Tunnel built in 701 BCE (cf. Isaiah 8:6). After him Meremoth...
to make way for Solomon. The anointing of Solomon takes place at the GihonSpring, just on the east side and below the palace grounds (in the City of David)...
around the City of David which was chosen because of its proximity to the GihonSpring. Massive Canaanite constructions were undertaken, with a water channel...
Solomon will be king after him and arranges for him to be anointed at the GihonSpring. The anointing is performed by Zadok the priest. Following this, the...
"southern location" theory placing both Jerusalem Temples above the GihonSpring, rather than on the Temple Mount. [5] Ariel Winderbaum, The Iron IIA...
Remains of the Iron IIA were unearthed south of al-Aqsa Mosque, above the GihonSpring and to the south of the Dung Gate of the Old City. In parallel to this...
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