Was John Chapter 5 verse 4 in the original Greek Bible?

Answer 1

There are perhaps three grounds on which some question the place of this passage in The Bible. The first is that some early manuscripts omit it. The second ground is that efforts to find the pool had been unsuccessful. The third is theological - it is so contrary to the usual perception of how God would heal, especially since only the first to enter the pool each time is healed.

The resolution to at least two of these objections is that archaeologists have found the pool, just as described. They found it to be an Asclepium - a temple to the Greek god of healing, Asclepias, and even found a votive offering given by a woman to the god in thanks for her cure. There were several such temples in the ancient world, and it was commonly understood that when Asclepias went past and disturbed the water, the first to enter would be cured. This accords with the account in John, except for changing 'Asclepias' to 'angel'. The author of John went to some little trouble to ensure that the miracles of Jesus were at least as impressive as those of the other gods of his time, so this passage is consistent with that. As to the manuscripts with the verse missing, it is just as likely that it was intentionally omitted because of the theological issue. And without this verse, the overall passage seems stilted.