CHAT Bethesda et al. (was: Brithenig-heads)

At 9:15 pm -0400 9/4/00, Padraic Brown wrote:
>On Sun, 9 Apr 2000, And Rosta wrote:
[....]
>>BTW, what does _Bethesda_ mean? It keeps popping into my head when I see
>>_Bethisad_.
>
>It's a town in Maryland. :)
Probably - most toponyms found elsewhere in the world also seem to exist in
the US  :)

I could reply that it's a village/town in north Wales.  But both & the
Maryland one are named after the original: a healing pool nrear the 'SDheep
Gate' in old Jerusalem  (see John, chap. 5, verse 2).

The name means: "house of mercy".   But the text is uncertain.  The King
James version gives Bethesda (hence the Welsh & Maryland toponyms).  Some
Greek texts have 'Bethsaida' (house of fishing) or 'Bethzatha' (house of
olives).   Both readings are noted in the margin of the Revised Version.

Bethsaida is clearly wrong and is a confusion on the part of copyists with
a Galilean town of that name.

The reading 'Bethzatha' is now the generally preferred form and archeology
has indeed revealed a large pool near the gate where sheep were brought
into the temple.

Ray.

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A mind which thinks at its own expense
will always interfere with language.
                   [J.G. Hamann 1760]
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