The Life of Jesus in Harmony  

T	he Bethesda Pool in the Time of Jesus

John 5:2 - Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep [market] a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

During the time of Jesus there was a water reservoir called the Pool of Bethesda located in the city of Jerusalem near the Temple and the Fortress of Antonia. The reservoir was fed by a spring, and it had five porches or colonnades. There were many lame and weak who came to the pool believing that at certain times an angel would stir the pool and offer a healing to the first who would step in. it was at this pool that Jesus healed the man who was lame for 38 years.

"The place is now thought to be the pool found during the repairs in 1888 near St. Anne's Church in the Bezetha quarter of Jerusalem not far from the Sheep's Gate and Tower of Antonia. It is below the crypt of the ruined fourth-century church and has a five-arch portico with faded frescoes of the miracle of Christ's healing." - UBD

Historical Notes

- BETHES'DA Heb. "beth Chesda" (house of mercy)

Related Topics: Jesus, Jerusalem, Lame Man, The Jerusalem Temple, The Antonioa Fortress

 

Back to top

 

Picture Study Bible - John 5
Ancient Bethesda
Jesus Resources