2 Kings 20:20

CONCLUSION OF HEZEKIAH’S REIGN, 2 Kings 20:20-21.

20. His might His valor or power in battle, by which he smote the Philistines. 2 Kings 18:8.

Pool… conduit The pool or cistern here mentioned is commonly identified with that still known as the “pool of Hezekiah,” which lies within the modern city, some distance northeast of the Yaffa Gate. “The natives now call it Birket-el-Hamman, from the circumstance that its waters are used to supply a bath in the vicinity. Its sides run towards the cardinal points. Its breadth at the north end is one hundred and forty-four feet; its length on the east side about two hundred and forty feet. The depth is not great. The bottom is rock levelled and covered with cement.” Robinson. This pool is supplied from the waters of the Gihon, or “upper pool,” mentioned in 2 Kings 18:17, which are led by a conduit, or aqueduct, which passes under the city wall a little north of the Yaffa Gate. This is doubtless the same work as that referred to in 2 Chronicles 32:30: “Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David.” Thus the king brought water into the city by covering over the fountains about the city, and leading their waters by subterranean conduits inside the city walls. Compare 2 Chronicles 32:3-4.