BETHESDA . A reservoir at Jerusalem, remarkable (according to a gloss inserted in the text in some authoritative MSS) for a periodic disturbance of the water which was supposed to give it healing properties. Here were five porches. It was ‘by the sheep-gate.’ An impotent man, one of the many who waited for the troubling of the water, was here healed by Christ ( John 5:2 ). The only body of water at Jerusalem that presents any analogous phenomenon is the intermittent spring known as the Virgin’s Fountain, in the Kidron valley, but it is not near the Sheep-gate. There is little that can be said in favour of any other of the numerous identifications that have been proposed for this pool. R. A. S. Macalister.
Bethesda. [Bethes'da] Pool at Jerusalem, near the sheep market or gate, into which an angel occasionally descended and troubled the water. The person who first stepped in after this, was cured of whatever disease he had. John 5:2. This was a marvellous witness of God's mercy still left to Israel, though it met the need of those only who had sufficient strength to avail themselves of it, and did not reach the most weakly and destitute, whose condition truly sets forth the state of man spiritually. In contrast to the law, which was 'weak through the flesh,' the Son of God was there with life and liberty in His gift. The name signifies 'house of mercy:' cf. Ex. 15:26, "I am Jehovah that healeth thee." The large pool, called 'Birket Israil,' near St. Stephen's Gate is the traditional Pool of Bethesda, but its identity is refused by most. There are other tanks in the city, and some prefer the 'fountain of the Virgin' outside of the city; but there is no certainty that any one of them is the pool mentioned in scripture.
Beth es’da - House of mercy