The Sheep Gate
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Neh. 12:39)—otherwise called the Gate of Gethsemane, or the Gate of the Holy Virgin Mary, or of the high priest Stephen, since it led to Gethsemane and to the tombs of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and of the protomartyr archdeacon Stephen. It is called the Sheep Gate because the Bedouin to this day drive sheep through this gate into the city for sale, just as in ancient times sheep were driven through it, partly to the city market and partly for sacrificial offerings. It lies along the eastern wall of Jerusalem, to the north of the Mosque of Omar, or the ancient site of Solomon’s temple; to the south of it is the Sheep Pool, or Bethesda.