John 5:2

John 5:2 Bhqzaqa, {C}

Of the several variant readings, Bhqsai?da, has strong attestation but is suspect as an assimilation to the town of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, mentioned in John 1:44. Bhqesda,, though widely supported, is also suspect as a scribal alteration originally introduced because of its edifying etymology (aD"s.x, tyBe, “House of [Divine] Mercy”)· In the opinion of a majority of the Committee the least unsatisfactory reading appears to be Bhqzaqa, (a 33 Eusebius), of which Bhzaqa, (L it^e) and perhaps Belzeqa, (D it^{(a), d, r1}) may be variant spellings. The Copper Scroll discovered at Qumran contains a reference to a pool at Betheshdathayim, ⁷ which the minority of the Committee interpreted as corroborating the reading Bhqesda,.

⁷ The word, the termination of which signifies the Hebrew dual number, appears to be connected with the Aramaic dva, “to pour out” (perhaps therefore “Place of poured-out [water]”); cf. J. T. Milik in: M. Baillet, J. T. Milik, and R. de Vaux, Les ‘Petites Grottes’ de Qumrân (= Discoveries in the Judaean Desert of Jordan, III), Textes (Oxford, 1962), p. 271; and J. Jeremias, The Rediscovery of Bethesda (Louisville, 1966), pp. 12 and 35.