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Birket Israel

Coordinates:31°46′49.22″N35°14′10.35″E/ 31.7803389°N 35.2362083°E/31.7803389; 35.2362083
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Birket Israel

Birket Israel(trans.Pool of Israel) alsoBirket IsrailorBirket Isra'in,[1]abbreviated fromBirket Beni Israìl(trans.Pool of the Children of Israel) was a publiccisternlocated on the north-eastern corner of theTemple Mount,inJerusalem.The structure is believed to have been built either in theLate Romanor theUmayyad period[2]for use as a water reservoir and also to protect the northern wall of the Temple Mount. Hackett attests that Arab locals knew it by this name in 1857.[3]

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

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Birket Israel, dried up, in the late 19th century
Birket Israel, circled, on a 1915 map

Date

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According to Muslim tradition, the reservoir was constructed byEzekielorHezekiah,King of Judah.[4]Some archaeologists have determined that the cistern was possibly built during theHerodian periodto improve Jerusalem's water supply.[5]Others estimate the date of construction later, in around 130 CE. This view is held byCharles Warrenwho recorded that although some kind offossemust have existed at the spot at a very early period, since there is no description of the pool in the works ofJosephus,"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 emperorHadrianduring his restoration of Jerusalem. This is further attested to since the masonry of thebirketis inferior in character and resembles the later Roman work in Syria. Additionally, this reservoir appears to be mentioned by theBordeaux Pilgrim(section 4) as already existing, and "would therefore most naturally be referable to Hadrian."[6]Apart from such speculation or the discovery of a Byzantine-style cross carved into the outlet channel, the first explicit mention of the pool only dates to the 10th-century historianal-Muqaddasi.[7]Shimon Gibson,who has worked in the nearby area of theBethesda Pool,suggests that the Birkat was built by the Umayyads during their large construction campaign on theHaram al-Sharif.[2]

Description

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Birket Isra'il was constructed in the bed of the western fork of theKidron Valleythat traverses the north-west quarter of the city.[8]It formed Jerusalem's largest reservoir, measuring 109.7 m (360 ft) by 38.4 m (126 ft) with a maximum depth of 26 m (85 ft).[9]The cistern contained a total capacity of 120,000 cubic meters[5]and for centuries it formed part of Jerusalem's rainwater storage system. The pool also served as amoat,protecting the northern wall of the Temple Mount.[10]

The eastern and western ends of the pool were partially rock-cut and partlymasonry.The masonry at the eastern end formed a great dam 13.7 m (45 ft) 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 hardRoman concreteand cement. There was a greatconduitat 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 6.5 m (21 ft) must have flowed away.[11]

Misidentification as the "Pool of Bethesda"

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The Birket Israel cistern was frequented byChristian pilgrimsduring the 19th century, it being previously identified as the "Sheep Pool" orPool of BethesdaofJohn 5:2;a double-pool with fiveporches,where the sick came to be cured.[12]This link was based on the premise that the nearbySt. Stephen's Gateoccupied the site of the Sheep Gate mentioned in theNew Testament.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 byDavid Robertsin 1893.[13]

According to Kopp, the Pool of Bethesda became associated with aByzantinechurch by 450 CE; then a 6th-century church, which by the arrival of theCrusadersin 1099, was known as the "Church of St. Anne".[12]A newChurch of St. Annewas built in the 12th century CE; the pool fell into disuse after the fall of theKingdom of Jerusalem,[12]while the church was converted into amadrasah,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 theVia Dolorosa.[12]Ownership of the whole site of the Church of St. Anne passed to France after theCrimean War,in 1856;[12]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.[14]

Later uses

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By the mid-19th century, Birket Israel was no longer being used as a reservoir;[3]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.[15]In 1934 the pool was filled in because its condition posed a threat to public health.[16]

Being located just inside theLions' Gate,one of the major entries to theOld City,the East Jerusalem Development Company initially intended to excavate the reservoir and build amulti-storey car parkat the site. This post-1967 plan was rejected by thewaqfauthorities 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.[17]

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.[17]Some small shops also exist at the site.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Koenen, Klaus. (2004)Bethel: Geschichte, Kult and Theologie
  2. ^abGibson, Shimon(2011)."The Excavations at the Bethesda Pool in Jerusalem: Preliminary Report on a Project of Stratigraphic and Structural Analysis (1999-2009)".Proche-Orient Chrétien(special issue).Missionaries of Africa:17-45 (18, cont. of note 1).Retrieved28 May2024– via academia.edu.
  3. ^abHackett (1857),p. 186
  4. ^Hanauer (2008),p. 104
  5. ^abFrom Pompey to the Destruction of the Second Temple
  6. ^Warren, Charles. Conder, Claude Reigner.The Survey of Western Palestine,Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, London, 1884.
  7. ^Jacobson, David M. (1990–1991).Shimon Gibson(ed.)."The Plan of Herod's Temple"(PDF).Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society (BAIAS).10:41.Retrieved28 May2024.
  8. ^Paton [1908] (1977),p. 35
  9. ^Finkelstein, Horbury, Davies & Sturdy (1999),p. 10
  10. ^Response to Other TheoriesArchivedSeptember 7, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  11. ^International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia(1913)
  12. ^abcdeKopp (1963),Pages 305–313.
  13. ^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".
  14. ^Wallace [1898] (1977),p. 225
  15. ^Wallace [1898] (1977),p. 240
  16. ^Safdie, Barton, & Shetrit (1986),p. 115
  17. ^abUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,Jerusalem and the Implementation of 21 C/Resolution 4/14,31 May 1983

Bibliography

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31°46′49.22″N35°14′10.35″E/ 31.7803389°N 35.2362083°E/31.7803389; 35.2362083

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