Gihon

Gihon refers to both a river of Eden (Genesis 2:13) and a spring near Jerusalem (1Ki.1.33, 38, 45; 2Ch.32.30; 33:14).

Gihon is the name given to two different water sources in the Bible. First, it is mentioned as one of the four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:13). The exact location of this river is unknown, and there is no further information provided about it in the biblical text. Second, Gihon is the name of a spring located near Jerusalem, which played a significant role in the city's water supply and in the anointing of King Solomon. It was at the Gihon spring that Solomon was anointed as king by the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan (1Ki.1.33, 38, 45). King Hezekiah later directed the waters of the Gihon spring through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David, ensuring a reliable water supply for Jerusalem during times of siege (2Ch.32.30). King Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, built a wall outside the City of David, extending it to the west of the Gihon spring (2Ch.33.14). The Gihon spring's location and its importance for Jerusalem's water supply make it a significant site in the city's history and in the narratives of the Israelite monarchy.

The only natural spring of water in or near Jerusalem is the “Fountain of the Virgin” (q.v.), which rises outside the city walls on the west bank of the Kidron valley. On the occasion of the approach of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, Hezekiah, in order to prevent the besiegers from finding water, “stopped the upper water course of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David” (2 Chr. 32:30; 33:14). This “fountain” or spring is therefore to be regarded as the “upper water course of Gihon.” From this “fountain” a tunnel cut through the ridge which forms the south part of the temple hill conveys the water to the Pool of Siloam, which lies on the opposite side of this ridge at the head of the Tyropoeon (“cheesemakers’”) valley, or valley of the son of Hinnom, now filled up by rubbish. The length of this tunnel is about 1,750 feet. In 1880 an inscription was accidentally discovered on the wall of the tunnel about nineteen feet from where it opens into the Pool of Siloam. This inscription was executed in all probability by Hezekiah’s workmen. It briefly narrates the history of the excavation. It may, however, be possible that this tunnel was executed in the time of Solomon. If the “waters of Shiloah that go softly” (Isa. 8:6) refers to the gentle stream that still flows through the tunnel into the Pool of Siloam, then this excavation must have existed before the time of Hezekiah.

In the upper part of the Tyropoeoan valley there are two pools still existing, the first, called Birket el-Mamilla, to the west of the Jaffa gate; the second, to the south of the first, called Birket es-Sultan. It is the opinion of some that the former was the “upper” and the latter the “lower” Pool of Gihon (2 Kings 18:17; Isa. 7:3; 36:2; 22:9).