Bethany

House of dates. (1.) The Revised Version in John 1:28 has this word instead of Bethabara, on the authority of the oldest manuscripts. It appears to have been the name of a place on the east of Jordan. (2.) A village on the south-eastern slope of the Mount of Olives (Mark 11:1), about 2 miles east of Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho. It derived its name from the number of palm-trees which grew there. It was the residence of Lazarus and his sisters. It is frequently mentioned in connection with memorable incidents in the life of our Lord (Matt. 21:17; 26:6; Mark 11:11, 12; 14:3; Luke 24:50; John 11:1; 12:1). It is now known by the name of el-Azariyeh, i.e., “place of Lazarus,” or simply Lazariyeh. Seen from a distance, the village has been described as “remarkably beautiful, the perfection of retirement and repose, of seclusion and lovely peace.” Now a mean village, containing about twenty families.

In the Revised Version for Bethabara, (John 1:28) where Jesus was baptized by John. It was probably an obscure village near Bethabara, and in time its name faded out and was replaced by the larger and more important Bethabara. (house of dates, or house of misery), a village which, scanty as are the notices of it contained in Scripture, is more intimately associated in our minds than perhaps any other place with the most familiar acts and scenes of the last days of the life of Christ. It was situated “at” the Mount of Olives, (Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29) about fifteen stadia (furlongs, i.e. 1 1/2 or 2 miles) from Jerusalem (John 11:18) on or near the usual road From Jericho to the city, (Luke 19:29) comp. Mark 11:1 comp. Mark 10:46 And close by the west(?) of another village called Bethphage, the two being several times mentioned together. Bethany was the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and is now known by a name derived from Lazarus—el-Azariyeh or Lazarieh . It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, fully a mile beyond the summit, and not very far from the point at which the road to Jericho begins its more sudden descent towards the Jordan valley. El-’Azariyeh is a ruinous and wretched village, a wild mountain hamlet of some twenty families. Bethany has been commonly explained “house of dates,” but it more probably signifies “house of misery.” H. Dixon, “Holy Land,” ii. 214, foll.

BETH'ANY (house of dates, or of misery). 1. A village on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet, about 1 1/2 to 2 miles ("15 furlongs") east of Jerusalem, John 11:18, toward Jericho; the home of Mary and Martha, whither Jesus often went. Matt 21:17; Mark 11:11-12. It was the home of Simon, Mark 14:3; the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead, John 11:18-44; Bethany. (After Photographs.) and near it Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke 24:50; named only in the Gospels, and there eleven times. Present Appearance. — Three paths lead from Jerusalem to Bethany — the first over Olivet, north of its summit; the third branches from the first, below Gethsemane, over the southern slope of Olivet; the second lies between these two. "The name, which signifies 'house of poverty,' was probably suggested by its solitary and remote situation, bordering on the desert, or by the fact that lepers, who are popularly called the 'poor,' once sought an asylum here." Mark 14:3. — Baedeker's Handbook. The town is now a poor mountain hamlet of about 20 rude stone houses inhabited by Moslems. The water is good, and olive, fig, almond, and carob trees abound. The reputed sites of Simon's house and that of Mary, also "the tower" and the tomb of Lazarus, are still pointed out. A church stands over the tomb. Bethany is now called el-Aziriyeh, "place of Lazarus." See Schaff's Bible Lands, p. 276.2. Some manuscripts read Bethany for Bethabara in John 1:28. See Bethabara.

the house of song; the house of affliction

BETH'ANY (house of dates, or of misery). 1. A village on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet, about 1 1/2 to 2 miles ("15 furlongs") east of Jerusalem, John 11:18, toward Jericho; the home of Mary and Martha, whither Jesus often went. Matt 21:17; Mark 11:11-12. It was the home of Simon, Mark 14:3; the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead, John 11:18-44; Bethany. (After Photographs.) and near it Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke 24:50; named only in the Gospels, and there eleven times. Present Appearance. — Three paths lead from Jerusalem to Bethany — the first over Olivet, north of its summit; the third branches from the first, below Gethsemane, over the southern slope of Olivet; the second lies between these two. "The name, which signifies 'house of poverty,' was probably suggested by its solitary and remote situation, bordering on the desert, or by the fact that lepers, who are popularly called the 'poor,' once sought an asylum here." Mark 14:3. — Baedeker's Handbook. The town is now a poor mountain hamlet of about 20 rude stone houses inhabited by Moslems. The water is good, and olive, fig, almond, and carob trees abound. The reputed sites of Simon's house and that of Mary, also "the tower" and the tomb of Lazarus, are still pointed out. A church stands over the tomb. Bethany is now called el-Aziriyeh, "place of Lazarus." See Schaff's Bible Lands, p. 276.2. Some manuscripts read Bethany for Bethabara in John 1:28. See Bethabara.