Bethany
A village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about three kilometres from Jerusalem. John names it as the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and Mark and Matthew have Jesus lodge there in the last week of his life.
Bethany lay on the Mount of Olives, “about fifteen stadia” from Jerusalem (Mark 11:1; John 11:18). John names it as the village of Martha, Mary of Bethany and Lazarus, and sets the raising of Lazarus there (John 11:1, 38–44). During his last days in Jerusalem Jesus went out to Bethany in the evenings (Mark 11:11–12; Matthew 21:17), and it was there, in the house of Simon the leper, that a woman anointed him (Mark 14:3). Luke sets the ascension near it (Luke 24:50). It is not the “Bethany beyond the Jordan” where John baptised (John 1:28).
Eusebius, early in the fourth century, describes Bethany as a village two miles from Jerusalem on the slope of the mount, where the place of Lazarus was still pointed out (Eusebius, Onomasticon 289). The pilgrim Egeria, in the 380s, calls it the Lazarium and puts it at about the second milestone from the city (Egeria, Itinerary 29.3–5). The Arabic name of the modern town, al-Eizariya, is usually derived from the name of Lazarus.
What happened here
- AD 30 or 33, estimated dateThe Raising of Lazarus
John reports that Jesus called his friend Lazarus out of the tomb at Bethany four days after his death. Many believed, and the council in Jerusalem, on the advice of the high priest Caiaphas, resolved that Jesus must die.
- AD 30 or 33, estimated dateJesus Enters Jerusalem
A few days before the Passover Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey from the Mount of Olives. Crowds spread cloaks and branches on the road and hail him with words from Psalm 118, as the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
- AD 30 or 33, estimated dateThe Ascension
Luke reports that the risen Jesus, after telling his apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, was taken up from the Mount of Olives and hidden by a cloud. Acts places this forty days after the resurrection.