κολυμβ-ήθρα G2861
Pool, reservoir; a public basin or cistern fed by a water source.
Denotes a swimming pool or reservoir—a constructed or natural basin for holding water. All NT occurrences refer to specific, named pools in Jerusalem: the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2, 4, 7) and the pool of Siloam (John 9:7). These were not decorative features but vital public water installations in an arid city. Spanish estanque/piscina and French piscine both descend from the same conceptual world of communal bathing and water storage, while German Teich (pond) leans toward the natural-water sense.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A pool, reservoir, or public water basin, typically a constructed installation for bathing or water collection. In John 5:2, 4, 7, it identifies the pool at Bethesda where the sick gathered hoping for healing; in John 9:7, Jesus sends the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam. Archaeological excavations have confirmed both pools as substantial stone-cut reservoirs. Spanish piscina and French piscine preserve the bathing-pool connotation, while estanque and German Teich evoke a broader water-holding basin. The word's classical sense of 'place for diving' (from kolymbaō, to swim) is still visible in its etymology. 4×
AR["بِركَة", "بِرْكَةٌ", "بِرْكَةِ"]·ben["পুকুর", "পুকুরে"]·DE["Teich"]·EN["pool"]·FR["piscine"]·heb["בְּרֵכָה"]·HI["कुण्ड", "कुण्ड,", "कुण्ड;"]·ID["kolam", "kolam,", "kolam;"]·IT["kolumbethra", "kolumbethran"]·jav["blumbang", "blumbang,", "blumbang;"]·KO["못", "못에서", "못이"]·PT["tanque"]·RU["купальне", "купальню,", "купальню;", "купальня,"]·ES["estanque", "piscina"]·SW["birika", "bwawa"]·TR["bir-havuz", "havuza", "havuzunda"]·urd["تالاب", "حوض"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κολυμβ-ήθρα, ἡ, place for diving, swimming-bath, Refs 5th c.BC+ __II wine-vat, tun, Refs 1st c.BC+ __III reservoir, cistern, LXX __IV baptismal font, Refs 6th c.AD+