Editing Tower of Siloam (section)

==Identification==
Bible commentator [[Matthew Henry]] references contemporary theologian Dr. [[Joseph Lightfoot]], who identified the [[Pool of Siloam]] with the [[Pool of Bethesda]] and conjectured that the Tower of Siloam may have been supporting one of the five porches of the Pool of Bethesda mentioned in the [[Gospel of John]],<ref>{{Bibleref2|Jn|5}}</ref> and that the 18 victims were killed by the falling porch. This was contested when the real Pool of Bethesda was discovered in north Jerusalem.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=von Wahlde |first=Urban C. |title=The Pool(S) of Bethesda and the Healing in John 5: A Reappraisal of Research and of the Johannine Text |date=2009 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44090924 |journal=Revue Biblique (1946-) |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=111–136 |jstor=44090924 |issn=0035-0907}}</ref>

In 1920 [[Raymond Weill]] proposed that one of the towers flanking the Pilaster wall next to the Pool of Siloam could be the "Tower of Siloam". In 2023 [[Nacshon Szanton]] demonstrated that indeed both towers were constructed in the Hellenistic period, and were rebuilt in the first century.<ref> [https://dannythedigger.com/tower-of-siloam/ Tracking the Tower in Siloam (Luke 13:4-5)] </ref>

Other Bible commentators have speculated that the Tower of Siloam may have been part of a [[Roman aqueduct]] connected to the Pool of Siloam.<ref>[[Life Application Study Bible]], footnote to Luke 13</ref> At least two aqueducts are known to have carried water to the pool from the [[Gihon Spring]], but these aqueducts were built into the ground, not on elevated [[viaducts]] requiring towers.

It has also been speculated{{by whom|date=July 2017}} that the tower was a fortress built to defend the city, similar to the [[Phasael tower]].{{fact|date=July 2017}}