Image Details

Urban C. von Wahlde

Moss-covered steps with broader landings lead down into the southern half of the ancient Pool of Bethesda, just north of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Described in the Gospel of John as a pool with five porticoes where Jesus healed a crippled man, the Pool of Bethesda has long been misunderstood, mislocated and misidentified. Although earlier studies called it a reservoir, these steps were the key to identifying it as a large public mikveh, or Jewish ritual bath, where the gospel says Jesus performed one of his miracles.