Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Fuller's Field

A place outside Jerusalem where the prophet Isaiah met with King Ahaz of Judah. In ancient Israel, fulling (the cleansing and thickening of cloth) was performed near a main water source such as a spring, a large cistern or a pool. In Jerusalem, the fuller's field was situated near the Upper Pool a site which apparently provided adequate space for the professional fullers to spread their long sheets of material for bleaching. 

This is the view of what is called "Hezekiah's Pool" Some consider this to be the pool mentioned in Isaiah 36:2 and 2 Kings 18:17 where Sennacherib's field commander met Hezekiah's men "at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Fuller's Field.". It is located in the Christian Quarter of Jeruslaem . At one time the courtyard around the reservoir was encircled with inns and rest stops for travels and royal couriers. Today these buildings are workshops and up until recently the pool was used as a trash dump. The site has never been excavated but there are plans to do so in the future.



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