Conder’s Handbook of the Bible, art. Jerusalem.) The third wall was built by King Herod Agrippa,
and was intended to enclose the suburbs which had grown out on the northern sides of the city,
which before this had been left exposed. After describing these walls, Josephus adds that the whole
circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or nearly four English miles, which is as near as may be
the extent indicated by the localities. He then adds that the number of towers in the old wall was
60, the middle wall 40, and the new wall 99. Water Supply—(Jerusalem had no natural water
supply, unless we so consider the “Fountain of the Virgin,” which wells up with an intermittent
action from under Ophel. The private citizens had cisterns, which were supplied by the rain from
the roofs; and the city had a water supply “perhaps the most complete and extensive ever undertaken
by a city,” and which would enable it to endure a long siege. There were three aqueducts, a number
of pools and fountains, and the temple area was honeycombed with great reservoirs, whose total
capacity is estimated at 10,000,000 gallons. Thirty of these reservoirs are described, varying from
25 to 50 feet in depth; and one, call the great Sea, would hold 2,000,000 gallons. These reservoirs
and the pools were supplied with water by the rainfall and by the aqueducts. One of these,
constructed by Pilate, has been traced for 40 miles, though in a straight line the distance is but 13
miles. It brought water from the spring Elam, on the south, beyond Bethlehem, into the reservoirs
under the temple enclosure.—ED.) Pools and fountains.—A part of the system of water supply.
Outside the walls on the west side were the Upper and Lower Pools of Gihon, the latter close
under Zion, the former more to the northwest on the Jaffa road. At the junction of the valleys of
Hinnom and Jehoshaphat was Enrogel, the “Well of Job,” in the midst of the king’s gardens.
Within the walls, immediately north of Zion, was the “Pool of Hezekiah.” A large pool existing
beneath the temple (referred to in Ecclus. 1:3) was probably supplied by some subterranean
aqueduct. The “King’s Pool” was probably identical with the “Fountain of the Virgin,” at the
southern angle of Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and falls at irregular periods; it
is supposed to be fed form the cistern below the temple. From this a subterranean channel cut
through solid rock leads the water to the pool of Siloah, The Pool Of or Siloam, which has also
acquired the character of being an intermittent fountain. The pool of which tradition has assigned
the name of Bethesda is situated on the north side of Moriah; it is now named Birket Israil.
Burial-grounds.—The main cemetery of the city seems from an early date to have been where it
is still—on the steep slopes of the valley of the Kedron. The tombs of the kings were in the city
of David, that is, Mount Zion. The royal sepulchres were probably chambers containing separate
recesses for the successive kings. Gardens.—The king’s gardens of David and Solomon seem to
have been in the bottom formed by the confluence of the Kedron and Himmon. (Nehemiah 3:15)
The Mount of Olives, as its name, and the names of various places upon it seem to imply, was a
fruitful spot. At its foot was situated the garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the final siege the
space north of the wall of Agrippa was covered with gardens, groves and plantations of fruit trees,
enclosed by hedges and walls; and to level these was one of Titus’ first operations. We know that
the Gennath (i.e. “of gardens”) opened on this side of the city. Gates.—The following is a complete
list of the gates named in the Bible and by Josephus, with the reference to their occurrence:—
•Gate of Ephraim. (2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16; 12:39) This is probably the same as the—
•Gate of Benjamin. (Jeremiah 20:2; 37:13; Zechariah 14:10) If so, it was 400 cubits distant from
the—
•Corner gate. (2 Chronicles 25:23; 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; Zechariah 14:10)
•Gate of Joshua, governor of the city. (2 Kings 23:8)
frankie
(Frankie)
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