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The Gihon

Jerusalem is located between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, 24 kilometers east of the Dead Sea and 56 kilometers west of the Mediterranean, situated in the Judean mountains of the Levant region. Due to its location, Jerusalem does not have abundant water sources and must rely on underground cisterns and reservoirs. Its nearest spring, the Gihon Spring, is in the Kidron Valley on the southwest side of Ophel Hill. Further south, another water source is the En Rogel well, located at the junction of the Kidron Valley and the Valley of Hinnom. The Jebusites carved through the rock, forming a tunnel that channeled water from the Gihon Spring into a large underground cavern. This reservoir was accessed by a vertical shaft, allowing residents to simply lower containers to draw water. Joab was the first to attack Jerusalem through this secret waterway (1 Chronicles 11:6).

Image: The Gihon Spring. The Gihon Spring was the main water source for the Jebusites, located on the western side of the Kidron Valley.
Image: The Gihon Spring, an underground intermittent spring that still flows periodically today. In winter, it gushes 3-5 times a day; in summer, twice a day; and in autumn, once a day. Jerusalem, built on a hill, relies on cisterns within the city and springs outside for drinking water. The nearest spring is the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley, southeast of the city, which is at a lower elevation and cannot be protected by the city walls. During wartime, water could only be drawn into the city via a secret tunnel.
Image: Warren’s Shaft, a conduit that draws water into the city from the Gihon Spring. In 1867, British engineer Sir Charles Warren discovered a channel leading from the Gihon Spring for 20 meters to a pool. Above the pool was a 14-meter vertical shaft carved out of the rock, allowing people inside the city to lower containers with ropes to draw water from the pool below. Another horizontal tunnel extended about 39 meters from this shaft into the city. When the Jebusites faced enemy attacks, they could not go outside the city walls for water, so they used this tunnel. Joab and his men likely entered the city through this very tunnel.
Image: A diagram illustrating Joab’s infiltration of the Jebusite city through the water tunnel.

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