Bethesda (originally: Beth Hesda - "House of Grace") was the name of a complex of pools in Jerusalem. The place is located north of the Temple Mount and consists of two pools surrounded by five colonnades. The first pool was dug here during the 8th century BC, when it was called "the Upper Pool" (II Kings, 18:17, Isaiah, 36:2; 7:3). A second pool was dug in the 3rd century BC by Simon the High Priest. The pools were used to wash sheep before they were sacrificed in the Temple and thus their water was considered to be holy and to have healing powers.
It is believed to be where Jesus healed a man at the waters of the Pool of Bethesda (John, 5).
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