The Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem
Photo: BiblePlaces.com |
In John's Gospel, chapter 5 verses 1 to 15,
the
author describes a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate,
called
Bethesda, surrounded by five covered colonnades. Until the
19th century, there was no evidence outside of
John's
Gospel for the existence of this
pool. |
| Skeptical scholars said that
the gospel
was written later, probably by someone without first-hand
knowledge
of the city of Jerusalem, and that the pool had a
metaphorical or
symbolic, rather than actual, significance. Then in
the
nineteenth century, archaeologists discovered the remains of
a pool
exactly matching the description in John's Gospel. Yet
again,
archaeology confirms that the Bible talks about real people
and real
places. |
 Photo:
BiblePlaces.com |
Back to
'Real
people: real places' | 
