Although many of the kings of ancient  Israel and Judah gave themselves to wickedness, Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah, who reigned  ca. 716-687 B.C., was a wonderful example of faithfulness.  Hezekiah sought to purge his kingdom of idolatry (2 Kings 18:4); he restored the proper observance of temple worship (2 Chronicles 29:3-36); led the nation in the observance of the Passover (2 Chronicles 30:1-27) and support of the priests (2 Chronicles 31:2,4); he received deliverance from the Assyrians (2 Chronicles 32:1-23) and God’s word from the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:19:6,7); and an extension of his life because of his humility before God (2 Kings 20:1-11).  In addition to these fine instances of spiritual leadership, both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles indicate that Hezekiah promoted  the physical well-being of the people.  One example in particular concerns the fact that he “made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city” (2 Kings 20:20).  2 Chronicles 32:30 adds that this was on “the west side of the City of David [i.e. Jerusalem].”
 
 

Istanbul Archaeological Museum

In 1880, some young boys wading in the pool of Siloam found what appeared to be a written inscription 19 feet into the conduit.  The discovery turned out to be an inscription commemorating the completion of the very tunnel 2 Kings 20:20 described.  Beginning at separate ends 1770 feet apart, the ancient engineers dug this tunnel through solid rock at an average height of six feet meeting in the middle.  The inscription reads:

 “Now this is the story of the boring through; while the excavators were still lifting up their picks, each toward his fellow, and while there were yet three cubits to excavate, there was heard the voice of one calling to another, for there was a crevice in the rock, on the right hand.  And on the day they completed the boring through, the stonecutters struck pick against pick, one against the other; and the waters flowed from the spring to the pool, a distance of 1000 cubits.  And one hundred cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the stone cutters”

J. Euting