Hezekiah's Tunnel. Jerusalem’s only water supply was in the Kidron Valley below the city, outside the walls. That was a problem.
People living in town couldn’t survive a long siege without water. And the Assyrians in what is now northern Iraq weren’t looking friendly—especially since King Hezekiah had decided to stop sending them the “tax” money they demanded from servient nations.
Call miners for Hezekiah’s tunnel
So, Hezekiah ordered a tunnel chiseled through solid rock, connecting the spring to the pool inside the city. Miners worked on it in two teams at opposite ends and met in the middle.
A tunnel six football fields long
The tunnel stretched 583 yards (530 meters).
In time, the tunnel got lost in history, hidden in the cave. But someone rediscovered it in 1880. Inside they found an ancient stone plaque that told “the story of its cutting.”
Taking an axe to bedrock
Quarrymen cut the stone with axes. They cut through limestone, which is easy to cut through, compared to most other rocks.
Assyrians did come and lay siege to Jerusalem, as Hezekiah expected. But they left suddenly, without getting inside the town.
Where to find more Bible maps
The Casual English Bible® has more than 900 Bible maps, many in 3D style. You can search for maps by place name, such as "Sea of Galilee."
Dedicated Bible map search engine
But you can also search for maps by Bible book, such as searching for all the maps in the book of Joshua. In addition, you can search by country, region, or era on a timeline, such as when Israel had kings or when Jesus was on earth. Here's a link to the dedicated Map Search Engine.
