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GIHON, Spring of
Site in Jerusalem where Solomon was anointed as king (1 Kgs 1:33, 38, 45). There are two sources of running water in Jerusalem: The first is the Ain Umm el Daraj’ (also known as the spring of the Mother of Steps, in the OT as Gihon, and to Christians as the Virgin’s Fountain), which lies at the eastern ridge. The second is Bir ’Ayub, or the well of Job. The importance of the spring of Gihon for the defense of Jerusalem in time of siege is emphasized by Hezekiah’s measures to deny his enemies access to the water supply and provide access for those who defended the city (2 Kgs 20:20; 2 Chr 32:30; cf. 2 Kgs 25:4; 2 Chr 32:3-4; Is 7:3). Hezekiah’s tunnel brought the waters from the spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley (eastern) into the central valley where the present-day pool of Siloam is located. The spring was unable to supply all of Jerusalem’s needs after the exile, and in the Roman period aqueducts were built to bring additional water.
See also Siloam, Pool of.