Site of the Great Tower
Northeastern section of the City of David - Looking west across the Kidron Valley (1984).
The Gihon Spring is located at the bottom left in this picture (under the double arched windows). The ancient Canaanites built a defensive tower over the spring sometime around 1800 BC.
The Great Tower
Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron labeled it the Spring Tower. Its real name, however, is the Great Tower. To be exact, it should probably be called "the great tower that lieth out" as recorded in the Bible.
We are, of course, speaking of the 1997 discovery by Reich and Shukron of the mammoth Canaanite tower over the Gihon Spring. This tower is mentioned in Nehemiah chapter three as he describes his rebuilding of Hezekiah's Mid-Slope Wall following his return from the 70 years of Babylonian captivity.
The first clear mention of the tower is in Nehemiah 3:26 which says: "Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out." Notice the connection of the water gate (which we believe to have been incorporated into the Mid-Slope wall above the Gihon Spring) with the tower in this verse.
The next mention of the tower in this chapter is found in Nehemiah 3:27: "After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel." In this passage the word "great" is added to the word "tower" and thus the proper name of our article is given as "The Great Tower."
We are, of course, speaking of the 1997 discovery by Reich and Shukron of the mammoth Canaanite tower over the Gihon Spring. This tower is mentioned in Nehemiah chapter three as he describes his rebuilding of Hezekiah's Mid-Slope Wall following his return from the 70 years of Babylonian captivity.
The first clear mention of the tower is in Nehemiah 3:26 which says: "Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out." Notice the connection of the water gate (which we believe to have been incorporated into the Mid-Slope wall above the Gihon Spring) with the tower in this verse.
The next mention of the tower in this chapter is found in Nehemiah 3:27: "After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel." In this passage the word "great" is added to the word "tower" and thus the proper name of our article is given as "The Great Tower."
Mid-Slope Wall on the eastern side of the City of David (1984).
It is interesting that when Nehemiah describes the work on the wall he uses the word "repaired." Nehemiah never built a wall of his own. He merely "repaired" Hezekiah's old wall. No less than 35 times is the word "repaired" used in this chapter concerning Nehemiah's rebuilding of Hezekiah's wall. Archaeologists have been looking for years for a wall that was built exclusively by Nehemiah, but such a wall never existed. He had his people restack the stones of Hezekiah's wall and that was it. That is why he was able to complete the work in just 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15).
The Great Tower is located over the Gihon Spring just northeast of the Upper Pool by the Water Gate. This location is mentioned in Isaiah 7:3 where it says: "Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field." The "conduit of the upper pool and fuller's field" were located near the Gihon Spring and Upper Pool by the Great Tower where fullers had an abundant water supply to complete the process of removing the oil from wool. The "conduit" here refers to Channel II as Hezekiah had not yet been made king and therefore had not yet begun to construct his famous tunnel which brought the waters to the west side of the city.
Another reference to this same location is found in Isaiah 36:1, 2 "Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field." In this story we see the Great Tower come to life. It is not just a pile of gigantic stones but a place of great drama and action.
Isaiah 37:13-15 - "Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 18 - Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?" To this they answered not a word but returned to Hezekiah who went to Isaiah for help.
Isaiah's reply from God was clear and immediate: "I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
"Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning behold, they were all dead corpses.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt in Nineveh.
"And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his God, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia; and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead (Isaiah 37:35-38).
So much for messin with The Great Tower!
The Great Tower is located over the Gihon Spring just northeast of the Upper Pool by the Water Gate. This location is mentioned in Isaiah 7:3 where it says: "Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field." The "conduit of the upper pool and fuller's field" were located near the Gihon Spring and Upper Pool by the Great Tower where fullers had an abundant water supply to complete the process of removing the oil from wool. The "conduit" here refers to Channel II as Hezekiah had not yet been made king and therefore had not yet begun to construct his famous tunnel which brought the waters to the west side of the city.
Another reference to this same location is found in Isaiah 36:1, 2 "Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field." In this story we see the Great Tower come to life. It is not just a pile of gigantic stones but a place of great drama and action.
Isaiah 37:13-15 - "Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 18 - Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?" To this they answered not a word but returned to Hezekiah who went to Isaiah for help.
Isaiah's reply from God was clear and immediate: "I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
"Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning behold, they were all dead corpses.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt in Nineveh.
"And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his God, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia; and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead (Isaiah 37:35-38).
So much for messin with The Great Tower!
Esarhaddon
Photo by Al Sandalow
Esarhaddon erected this monument to commemorate a military victory in Egypt. The dolerite monument is over 10 feet high and was made in the 7th century BCE. It was found in 1881 in the modern city of Zinjirli, Turkey, and the text is written in the Akkadian language using cuneiform script. Esarhaddon himself is depicted in the carving, which is now located in the Museum of the Ancient Near East, Pergamum Museum, Berlin.
