Pool
Summary
Pools were artificial reservoirs essential to life in Palestine, collecting rainwater and spring water for irrigation and drinking in a land with few perennial streams.
☩Types and Construction
Pools (Hebrew berekah) were larger public reservoirs, while cisterns (bor) were smaller domestic tanks. Some pools were fed by springs, others were mere receptacles for rainwater. The largest pools were made by damming watercourses, enlarged by excavation; smaller rectangular pools were built in towns to receive roof runoff. Solomon's pools near Bethlehem are perhaps the most celebrated, still supplying Jerusalem with water through an aqueduct.
☩Notable Pools of Jerusalem
Jerusalem had several important pools. The upper pool (Birket el-Mamilla) connected to a watercourse near the fuller's field. The lower pool (Birket es-Sultan) lay farther south in the valley. Hezekiah's pool (Birket el-Hammam) was fed by waters diverted from the upper pool of Gihon. The king's pool may be identified with the fountain of the Virgin on the east side of Ophel. The Pool of Siloam (Birket Silwan) received water from Hezekiah's tunnel.
☩New Testament Significance
Two pools feature prominently in John's Gospel. The Pool of Bethesda, with its five porches, was where Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. The Pool of Siloam was where Jesus sent the man born blind to wash, resulting in his miraculous healing. Both pools illustrate Christ's power over physical ailments and His identity as the giver of living water.
Related Verses26 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Pool," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Pool; Pond; Reservoir," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Pool," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Pool," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).