BETHESDA
The mss. oldest of the NT give other names: Bethsaida (house of fishing) and Betzata (house of the olive tree).
Jerusalem Pond, located near the Sheep Gate.
It had five porches, and could accommodate a large crowd (John 5:2). Tradition placed Bethesda in Birket-Israel, north of the Temple, where there is a pond. But, although the tradition was deep-rooted, it turned out to be false.
In 333 AD, a pilgrim from Bordeaux claimed that there were two pools and five porticos. Furthermore, the old mss., p. e.g., the Codex Sinaiticus, they say Betzata instead of Betesda.
These are evidently variants of Bezetha, a quarter of the city situated north of the Temple Mount; These variants reveal that the pond was located in the part of the city of this name.
Furthermore, it was located near the Sheep Gate; The explanation given by Nehemiah allows us to place this door to the north of the Temple.
Excavations carried out in the autumn of 1888 in the northeastern part of Jerusalem, due to the restoration of the Church of Saint Anne, discovered a pond with 5 porticos.
On the wall, a half-faded fresco depicted an angel, and the water gives evidence that early Christianity placed Bethesda in this pool.