![Birket Israel, 19th century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Birket_Israel%2C_19th_century.jpg)
Birket Israel (
trans. ''Pool of Israel'') also Birket Israil or Birket Isra'in, abbreviated from Birket Beni Israìl (
trans. ''Pool of the Children of Israel'') was a public
cistern located on the north-eastern corner of the
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
, in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. The structure is believed to have been built by the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
for use as a water reservoir and also to protect the northern wall of the Temple Mount. Arab locals have known it by this name since at least 1857.
[ Hackett (1857)]
p. 186
/ref>
By the mid-19th century it had gone out of use as a reservoir; being partly filled with rubbish and reused as a vegetable garden. In 1934 it was filled in and is now known as el-Ghazali Square. It is currently in mixed use for shops, as a car park, and as a transshipment point for refuse.
Construction
According to Muslim tradition, the reservoir was constructed by Ezekiel or Hezekiah
Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...
, King of Judah
The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah. According to the biblical account, this kingdom was founded after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, David ...
.[ Hanauer (2008), p. 104] Some archaeologists have determined that the cistern was possibly built during the Herodian period to improve Jerusalem's water supply.[From Pompey to the Destruction of the Second Temple]
/ref> Others estimate the date of construction later, in around 130 CE. This view is held by Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...
who recorded that although some kind of fosse must have existed at the spot at a very early period, since there is no description of the pool in the works of Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
, "and it is very improbable that he would have omitted to mention so enormous a reservoir had it existed in his time", it was most probably constructed by Roman emperor Hadrian during his restoration of Jerusalem. This is further attested to since the masonry of the birket is inferior in character and resembles the later Roman work in Syria. Additionally, this reservoir appears to be mentioned by the Bordeaux Pilgrim
The ''Itinerarium Burdigalense'' ("Bordeaux Itinerary"), also known as the ''Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum'' ("Jerusalem Itinerary"), is the oldest known Christian ''itinerarium''. It was written by the "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", an anonymous pilgrim ...
(section 4) as already existing, and "would therefore most naturally be referable to Hadrian."
It was constructed in the bed of the western fork of the Kidron Valley
The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...
that traverses the north-west quarter of the city.[ Paton (1977)">908(1977), p. 35] It formed Jerusalem's largest reservoir, measuring by with a maximum depth of .[ Finkelstein, Horbury, Davies & Sturdy (1999), p. 10] The cistern contained a total capacity of 120,000 cubic meters[ and for centuries it formed part of Jerusalem's rainwater storage system. The pool also served as a moat, protecting the northern wall of the Temple Mount.
The eastern and western ends of the pool were partially rock-cut and partly ]masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
. The masonry at the eastern end formed a great dam thick, the lower part of which was continuous with an ancient eastern wall of the Temple compound. The sides of the pool were lined entirely with masonry because it was built across the width of a valley. The original bottom of the reservoir was covered with a layer of about 19 inches of very hard Roman concrete
Roman concrete, also called , is a material that was used in construction in ancient Rome. Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement. It is durable due to its incorporation of pozzolanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading. ...
and cement. There was a great conduit
Conduit may refer to:
Engineering systems
* Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids
* Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables
* Conduit curre ...
at the eastern end of the pool built of massive stones, and connected with the pool by a perforated stone with three round holes 5½ inches in diameter. The position of this outlet shows that all water over a depth of must have flowed away.''International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia'' (1913)
/ref>
Misidentification as the "Pool of Bethesda"
The Birket Israel cistern was frequented by Christian pilgrims during the 19th century, it being previously identified as the "Sheep Pool" or Pool of Bethesda
The Pool of Bethesda is a pool in Jerusalem known from the New Testament account of Jesus miraculously healing a paralysed man, from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, where it is described as being near the Sheep Gate, surrounded by f ...
of John 5:2; a double-pool with five porches, where the sick came to be cured.[ Kopp (1963), Pages 305–313.] This link was based on the premise that the nearby St. Stephen's Gate occupied the site of the Sheep Gate mentioned in the New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
. It was reinforced by the co-location of the names 'Birket Israel' and the 'Pool of Bethesda' on maps and plans of Jerusalem; and in drawings and paintings, such as those made by David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to:
Arts and literature
* David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter
* David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector
* David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...
in 1893.[Schuler, Wolfgang (1991). ''In the Holy Land: Paintings by David Roberts 1839''. Bnei Brak, Israel: Steimatzky ltd. What appears to be Birket Israel is described as: "Jerusalem, Bethesda Pool between the Temple Mount (left) and St. Anna".]
According to Kopp, the Pool of Bethesda became associated with a Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
church by 450 CE; then a 6th-century church, which by the arrival of the Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
in 1099, was known as the "Church of St. Anne".[ A new Church of St. Anne was built in the 12th century CE; the pool fell into disuse after the fall of the ]Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
,[ while the church was converted into a madrasah, Christian pilgrims being redirected to nearby Birket Israel on the other side of what is now called the Lions Gate Street, whose more western section is part of the ]Via Dolorosa
The ''Via Dolorosa'' (Latin, 'Sorrowful Way', often translated 'Way of Suffering'; ar, طريق الآلام; Hebrew: ויה דולורוזה) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus would have t ...
.[ Ownership of the whole site of the Church of St. Anne passed to France after the ]Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, in 1856;[ and discoveries made in around 1870 led to the belief that the real Pool of Bethesda was actually located in the grounds of the Church of St. Anne.][ Wallace (1977)">898(1977), p. 225]
Later uses
By the mid-19th century, Birket Israel was no longer being used as a reservoir;[ and towards the end of the 19th century it was being rapidly filled with refuse and part of it was being used as a vegetable garden.][ Wallace (1977)">898(1977), p. 240] In 1934 the pool was filled in because its condition posed a threat to public health.[ Safdie, Barton, & Shetrit (1986), p. 115]
Being located just inside the Lions' Gate
Lions' Gate ( he, שער האריות, Sha'ar ha-Arayot, Lions' Gate, ar, باب الأسباط, Bab al-Asbat, Gate of the Tribes), also St Stephen's Gate, is one of the seven open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It leads into the Muslim Qu ...
, one of the major entries to the Old City, the East Jerusalem Development Company initially intended to excavate the reservoir and build a multi-storey car park
A multistorey car park ( British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a bui ...
at the site. This post-1967 plan was rejected by the ''waqf
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...
'' authorities who own the plot because they feared that clearance work at the base of the Temple Mount would endanger the Haram compound. Subsequently, in 1981 a small square equipped with benches was constructed on part of the covered pool.[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]
Jerusalem and the Implementation of 21 C/Resolution 4/14
31 May 1983
Today the area is known as el-Ghazali Square and is used as a car park and collection point for refuse before it is dumped outside the city.[ Some small shops also exist at the site.
]
See also
* Pool of Bethesda
The Pool of Bethesda is a pool in Jerusalem known from the New Testament account of Jesus miraculously healing a paralysed man, from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, where it is described as being near the Sheep Gate, surrounded by f ...
* Pool of Siloam
The term Pool of Siloam ( ar, بركه سلوان, he, בריכת השילוח, ''Breikhat HaShiloah'') ( gr, Σιλωάμ) refers to a number of Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut pools on the southern slope of the City of David (Silwan), Wadi Hilw ...
References
Bibliography
* Finkelstein, Louis; Horbury, William; Davies, William David; Sturdy, John. ''The Cambridge History of Judaism'', Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pre ...
, 1999.
* Hackett, Horatio Balch (1857).
Illustrations of Scripture: Suggested by a Tour Through the Holy Land
', Heath & Graves, 1857.
* Hanauer, J.E. ''Folk-lore of the Holy Land'', BiblioBazaar, 2008.
*Kopp, Clemens 962
Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...
1963). ''The Holy Places of the Gospels''. Freiburg: Herder, Edinburgh and London: Nelson. Originally published in 1962 as ''Die Heiligen Statten der Evangelien'' (in German).
* Safdie, Moshe; Barton, Rudy & Shetrit, Uri. ''The Harvard Jerusalem Studio'', MIT Press, 1986.
* Paton, Lewis Bayles. ''Jerusalem in Bible Times'', Ayer Publishing, 1977.
*Wallace, Edwin Sherman.
Jerusalem the Holy
', Ayer Publishing, 1977.
{{good article
Classical sites in Jerusalem
Reservoirs in Jerusalem
Temple Mount