The area of the Pools of Bethesda has always had a source of water. In the days of the Old Testament, the area was outside the city of Jerusalem to the north. It had a large pool that shepherds used and was called the Sheep Pool. The gate on the north side of Jerusalem was thus called the Sheep Gate. In the 700’s BC a dam was built to turn the spring into a reservoir that would collect rain water which could then be channeled into the city. The area was associated with sheep, sacrifice, and the Temple because of its proximity to the Temple.

The Hasmoneans added a second pool on the south side of the dam and covered the channel to improve water quality. This site was uncovered in 1888 by K. Schick, but it had been known about since the days of the Byzantines and Crusaders, as evidenced by the remains of the church that was built over it. No ancient Jewish writers refer to this pool, although Josephus did write of the Pool of the Sheep-market. Some early Christian writers recorded a spring of water here that flowed with a red, ruddy color that some
people have tried to associate with the blood of the Temple sacrifices. The spring that feeds the pools has been located, and water still collects in the lower areas.

This is a model of Jerusalem as it appeared in 70 AD. Notice the two pools that made up the Pools of Bethesda. The south and north pools can be seen, along with the
five colonnaded porches that surrounded it. Each of the four sides had a colonnaded porch. The fifth colonnaded porch would be the covered dam that separated the two pool

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The Pool of Bethesda was divided into two halves by the dam in the middle that separated the source and storage of the water from the southern pool
which was used as a public mikvah and a place to fill water jugs to carry water home.

This image shows what would be a potential location of where the lame man was waiting at the Pool of Bethesda in April of 28 AD during the second Passover of Jesus ministry.
The lame man would have been waiting on one of these landings above a series of mikveh steps leading down into the water. Which landing level he was on would depend on
the water level at that time in the southern pool. The stirring of water spoken of in John 5:7 could simply have been caused by a release of water into the southern pool from the
northern pool where the water was stored. Occasionally the water would have to be released into the southern pool through the settling basin that appears on the west side of
the southern pool (see labeled image). This is where the sediments would first settle before actually entering the southern pool or mikveh.

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When the Roman Empire became Christian (i.e., the Byzantine Empire of 326-638), it built a church over these two pools.
One of the many arches that supported the large Byzantine structure can be seen in the middle of this photo.

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Great view showing south side of the Pool of Bethesda, the dividing dam in the Pool and the northside of the pool that was the source of the water and the storage pool for the water.
Also, visible on the south side are the steps of the mikvah were the lame man of John 5 was waiting.
When the Roman Empire became Christian (i.e., the Byzantine Empire of 326-638), it built a church over these two pools.
One of the many arches that supported the large Byzantine structure can be seen in the middle of this photo.

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Water located under an arch of the large Byzantine church built over the New Testament Pool of Bethesda.
This photo was taken inside the northern pool against one of the edges of the pool.