http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=518
Tunneling For The Truth
| by | Kyle Butt, M.Div. |
Quite often, the Bible will make a very specific remark about a certain person, place, or thing that can be checked against historical and archaeological evidence. Such cases provide an excellent way to build up corroborative evidence in support of the Bible’s accuracy and inspiration. The book of 2 Kings relates the story of King Hezekiah, one of the few kings of ancient Judah who did “what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done” (2 Kings 18:3). Second Kings 20:20 lists a number of his achievements: “Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.” We then read in 2 Chronicles 32:30 that “this same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his works.” These two verses provide us with a wonderful opportunity to verify the Old Testament’s accuracy. One would think that such a feat of aquatic engineering would leave behind some type of archaeological evidence as a memorial to this king. Is there any extra-biblical information to verify this story?
Indeed there is. Randall Price, in his fascinating book, The Stones Cry Out, catalogs amazing evidence to confirm the tunnel Hezekiah dug underneath the old city of Jerusalem. In fact, on page 267 Price includes a picture of his daughter standing in the actual tunnel. How Hezekiah carved this 1,750-foot tunnel through solid limestone remains a mystery, even today. However, in 1880, an inscription now known as the “Siloam Inscription” was discovered that helped fill in some of the blanks. Apparently, two crews of Hezekiah’s men, working with picks, tunneled from opposite ends, snaking through the limestone in an S-shaped style. How these two crews met in the middle without the aid of a modern compass or other such device is still unknown. However, the fact that Hezekiah built this tunnel leaves no mystery to uncover. Time and time again, the Bible “checks out,” and remains the most accurate and authoritative book ever written.