Sheep Gate
Sheep Gate is a structure mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Jerusalem. It appears across 4 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
The Sheep Gate was one of the gates in the northern wall of Jerusalem, bearing particular significance in both the Old and New Testaments. Its most prominent mention in the Old Testament comes in Nehemiah 3:1-32, where it is listed first among the gates rebuilt after the Babylonian exile. Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests undertook the reconstruction of the Sheep Gate, and notably they consecrated it — the only gate specifically said to have been set apart in this manner, befitting its role as the entry point through which sacrificial animals were brought into the city toward the Temple. The gate is mentioned again in Nehemiah 12:39 during the dedication of the rebuilt walls. In the New Testament, the Sheep Gate gains remarkable theological weight: John 5:2 places the Pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate, the very location where Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. This pairing of the gate of sacrificial animals with a site of miraculous healing carries rich symbolic resonance in the Gospel narrative.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The Sheep Gate is generally identified with the northeastern section of Jerusalem's Old City walls, near the present-day Lions' Gate (also called St. Stephen's Gate). The Pool of Bethesda, mentioned in connection with the Sheep Gate in John 5:2, has been archaeologically confirmed at the site of the Crusader Church of St. Anne in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. Excavations there by the White Fathers in the nineteenth century and subsequent work revealed a large double pool complex with five porticoes, precisely matching John's description. First-century stonework and votive offerings related to healing cults have been recovered, corroborating the site's therapeutic association. The Sheep Gate itself, as a structure, has not been separately excavated.
Verse Appearances (4)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →