The Siloam Tunnel Inscription From Hezekiah's Tunnel, The Oldest Hebrew Text

701 BCE

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Pictured here is a replica of the Siloam Tunnel Inscription from Hezekiah's Tunnel, the Oldest Hebrew Text dating back to 701 BCE. The inscription describes the digging of the tunnel by two crews of workmen working from opposite ends to meet in the middle. It was discovered carved into the tunnel wall in 1880 by boys playing near the southern end of the tunnel. Although it was naturally carved into the tunnel wall, thieves chiseled it out of the wall, breaking it into pieces. The original inscription is currently on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

The Inscription 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 (Gihon) spring to the (Siloam) pool, a distance of 1,200 cubits...”

Siloam Tunnel Inscription replica
The City of David
Zev Radovan / Alamy Stock Photo

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“The tunnelling 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 (Gihon) spring to the (Siloam) pool, a distance of 1,200 cubits...”