Name
The name of the pool is said to be derived from the Hebrew language and/or Aramaic language. beth hesda (בית חסד/חסדא), meaning either house of mercy or house of grace. In both Hebrew and Aramaic the word could also mean 'shame, disgrace'. This dual meaning may have been thought appropriate since the location was seen as a place of disgrace due to the presence of invalids, and a place of grace, due to the granting of healing.
Alternative renderings of the name, appearing in manuscripts of the Gospel of John, include Beth-zatha and Bethsaida (not to be confused with Bethsaida, a town in the Galilee), although the latter is considered to be a metathetical corruption by Biblical scholars.
Delitzsch (“Talmudische Studien, X. Bethesda,” Zeitschrift für die gesamte lutherische Theologie und Kirche,1856) suggested that the name comes from a mishnaic Hebrew loanword from Greek, estiv/estava, that appropriately referred to στοά.
Read more about this topic: Pool Of Bethesda
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