As excavations continue on the Pool of Siloam, archaeologists have gone on to uncover 8 steps that have been hidden for at least 2,000 years. The Pool is significant as the site where Jesus healed a blind man and is referenced in the Old Testament as well. The Pool itself was found by chance in 2004 when a water company doing infrastructure work uncovered a different set of steps. Reverend Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, told Fox News that the Pool’s discovery was an act of Providence. “In the Pool of Siloam, we find evidence of history preserved for us, revealed at just the right time,” he said. He also noted the importance of the discovery as an affirmation of Scripture’s veracity. “Theologically, it affirms Scripture, it affirms Scripture, and politically, it affirms Israel’s unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem. Some discoveries are theoretical. This one is undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and of its people, Israel.”

The site continues to be a place of discovery as the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) hopes to open up the full Pool to the public. Currently, just a portion has been accessible, with these newest steps just another piece of history that would be of interest to tourists. The Pool was built in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, who is noted in the Bible as being one of the most devout Hebrew kings since David. But by 70 AD, the Pool was destroyed by Romans after the Second Temple was destroyed. The Pool is believed to span 1.25 acres, and ultimately uncovering it will take years.

Despite the long road ahead to excavate the site completely, Ze’ev Orenstein, director of International Affairs – City of David Foundation, highlighted the Pool’s essential affirmation of Israel’s heritage. “The ongoing excavations within the City of David — the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem — particularly of the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem,” he said. The discovery of the Pool and the continued insights the excavations bring make the Scriptures “Not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact.” “The half-mile running through the City of David, from the Pool of Siloam in the south, continuing along the Pilgrimage Road, up to the footsteps of the Western Wall, Southern Steps and Temple Mount, represents the most significant half-mile on the planet. There is no half-mile anywhere on Earth which means more to more people — not to millions, but to billions — than the half-mile that is the City of David,” he affirmed.