Pool of Bethesda
About Pool of Bethesda
“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades (John 5:1)”.
The Pool of Bethesda is within the compounds of the Church of St Anne and near the Lion’s Gate or St Stephen’s Gate (formerly known as the Sheep Gate). Apostle John described the pool as having five covered colonnades, a rectangular pool with two basins separated by a wall. The southern pool was used as a ritual bath (mikveh). The northern pool was a reservoir that supplied the southern pool with fresh water through the dam between them.
“House of Mercy”
The Hebrew word Bethesda means “House of Mercy” or “House of Grace”. Pilgrims to the city were not the only ones who came to the Pool of Bethesda. It was a place that large groups of invalids and sick came for healing and cures. The pool’s healing power was a long-held pagan tradition. The sick and infirm huddled around the pool and pinned their hopes on the chance that they might be the first into the waters. It was believed that the first person who entered the waters when the water stirred would be healed.
Healing of a Paralytic (John 5:1-16)
The Bible recounts when Jesus visited the pool on a Sabbath, He met an invalid man for 38 years who could not make it into the pool in time when the water stirred up. Jesus cured him immediately and the man picked up his mat and walked. Jesus demonstrated that it was not the pool or the stirring water that healed, instead it is Jesus Himself who heals.
Interesting Facts
- The site was discovered in 1888 by K Schick. When the site was first discovered, archaeologists only noticed one pool. About 100 years later, they discovered that there were two pools, separated by a wall.
- The length of each side, covering both pools, was about 120 meters. The width was about 50 meters and the pools were about 15 meters deep.
- In Hebrew and Aramaic, the word Bethesda could also mean “shame” or “disgrace”.
