The Pool of Bethesda is a pool of water in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem, on the path of the Beth Zeta Valley. The Gospel of John describes such a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. It is associated with healing. Until the 19th century, there was no evidence outside of John’s Gospel for the existence of this pool; therefore, scholars argued that the gospel was written later, probably by someone without first-hand knowledge of the city of Jerusalem, and that the ‘pool’ had only a metaphorical, rather than historical, significance.
In the 19th century, archaeologists discovered the remains of a pool fitting the description in John’s Gospel.
Read more about Pool Of Bethesda: Name, Relationship To The Historical Jesus, History, Scripture
Famous quotes containing the words pool of and/or pool:
“I see by the papers that you have once more stirred that pool of intellectual stagnation, the educational convention.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“Just getting in the pool for seven straight hours is unbearable to me.... It’s grueling. There’s nothing physically pleasurable about it. If you’re doing a hard workout, you’re throwing up in the gutter. At night you cling to your pillow and just hope that your body revives before you have to go back and do it again.”
—Diana Nyad (b. 1949)