Assyria’s King Sennacherib was planning to capture Judah. Somehow, King Hezekiah had workers dig a tunnel through solid rock and divert Judah’s water supply to the Pool of Siloam, hiding it from the enemy. That was 2,700 years ago.

Clues to how the work was done, as well as biblical evidence from Jesus’ earthly ministry, might be unearthed as Israel excavates the full Pool of Siloam that has fascinated archeologists for more than 150 years.

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary professor Jim Parker viewed the excavation site and tunnel on a current instructional tour of Jerusalem he led in January, he told Baptist Press.

“It’s still a great mystery how they did it,” said Parker, NOBTS professor of biblical interpretation and executive director of NOBTS’ Michael and Sara Moskau Institute of Archeology. “He (Hezekiah) was able to protect and defend the water system.”

The work is referenced but not detailed in 2 Kings 20:20, which indicates the details are written in “The History of the Kings of Judah,” an extra-biblical historical book.

Excavation of the full pool, believed to be about one acre in size, will be valuable in affirming Scripture, Parker told Baptist Press. “It affirms the biblical fact that this pool existed, and the tunnel existed, and it operated together,” he said. “It also gives an idea into some of the rituals of the temple.”

The Pool of Siloam is where Israelites washed to spiritually purify themselves before entering the temple. At the pool, Jesus healed a blind man, as told in John 9:1-11.