Bible Strands
John 5:2
Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator places the scene in Jerusalem as Jesus arrives for a Jewish feast. This geographical marker precedes the description of the sick gathering on the walkways.
The words — ἔστιν (estin) literally means "there is," asserting the pool's existence, and προβατικῆς (probatikēs) denotes the adjacent "Sheep Gate."
The thread — The Sheep Gate functions as a landmark in Nehemiah 3:1, Nehemiah 3:32, and Nehemiah 12:39.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to locate the pool before the subsequent healing event, grounding the narrative in a specific historical geography.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 3:1 At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.
- Nehemiah 12:39 over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.
- Nehemiah 3:32 And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.
- Isaiah 22:11 You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.
- Isaiah 22:9 You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.
- John 19:13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
- John 19:17 Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
- John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
- Acts 21:40 Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:
- John 19:20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.