Archaeology
Pool of Bethesda
- Era
- 1st century AD
- Location
- near St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem
- Discovered
- 19th-20th century excavations
A twin-pool complex with five porticoes just north of the Temple Mount — matching, in almost stubborn detail, John's description of the place where Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath.
The find
Excavations near the Church of St. Anne uncovered a large rectangular double pool surrounded by four colonnaded porches with a fifth porch dividing the two basins — a five-porticoed structure long thought to be a Johannine invention. John 5:2 specifies this unusual architectural arrangement.
Why it matters
It confirms a distinctive architectural detail — the five porticoes — that no later writer would have known to invent. That's strong evidence of an eyewitness source standing behind John's Gospel.
Cross-linked Scripture
Doctrine check
Sources
- ·Charlesworth, J.H. (2010). Jesus and Archaeology. Eerdmans
- ·von Wahlde, U.C. (2009). Archaeology and John's Gospel. In Jesus and Archaeology, ed. Charlesworth
- ·BAR: The Bethesda Pool
- ·Pool of Bethesda (Wikipedia)
See also
