Bible Dictionaries
Bethesda

Holman Bible Dictionary

(buh thehss' duh) The name of a pool in Jerusalem where Jesus healed a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years (John 5:2 ). The name, appropriately, means “house of mercy.” Most ancient manuscripts identify Bethesda as the place of the pool. Some ancient manuscripts name it Bethzatha or Bethsaida. The third edition of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament places Bethzatha in the text and the other readings in footnotes. The waters of the pool were popularly believed to possess curative powers. Truly, the man who was healed after thirty-eight years experienced the outpouring of God's mercy on the sabbath. The references to the pool being stirred by angels (John 5:3-4 ) are not found in either the oldest or the majority of manuscripts. However, regardless of the disagreement among manuscripts on the name of the pool or the angel passage, the pool did exist. Today this pool is identified with the series of pools found near the church of St. Anne. See Healing.