Bethphage

Biblical Text

Bethphage is mentioned once in each of the three Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. All three passages describe the moment just before Jesus entered Jerusalem after coming up from Jericho.

• Matthew 21:1 — When Jesus and his companions "were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives," Jesus sent two disciples to bring a donkey and her colt from the village opposite them.
• Mark 11:1 — Records the same event as taking place when they came near "unto Bethphage and Bethany." Here only a single colt is mentioned.
• Luke 19:29 — Like Mark, names Bethphage and Bethany together and states that the event took place at the Mount of Olives.

In the verses that follow, Jesus rides the animal into the city while the crowd cries out "Hosanna." This scene is known as the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

Background

The name Bethphage is commonly explained as meaning "house of unripe figs" in Aramaic. Because the biblical text associates the village with the Mount of Olives, it is understood to have been a small village east of Jerusalem, at the foot or on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. The name is also reported to appear in rabbinic literature in connection with the boundaries of Jerusalem.

Its precise location has not been determined. Tradition has placed it on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, between Bethany and Jerusalem. A memorial church administered by the Franciscans stands on this site today.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the public ministry of Jesus, Bethphage stands at the threshold of Holy Week. Matthew 21:4–5 presents the entry on a donkey as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, which foretells a lowly king coming riding upon a donkey. Bethphage is remembered as the place where that scene was prepared.

Interpretations and Debated Points

• The order of the two villages: Many scholars hold that a traveler coming up from Jericho would pass Bethany first. Various explanations have therefore been offered for why Mark and Luke name Bethphage first. Some suggest that the order reflects the perspective of someone in Jerusalem; others suggest that the two villages lay so close together that they were simply named as a pair.
• "The village over against you": The text does not name the village where the disciples obtained the donkey. Some identify it with Bethphage, while others identify it with Bethany or another village.
• Connection with figs: Some sermons link the meaning of the name to the cursing of the fig tree in Mark 11:12–14. The text itself, however, does not connect the two, and such a link should be recognized as an interpretive association rather than a statement of the text.

In the Korean Church

Bethphage is mentioned chiefly in Palm Sunday sermons when the account of the Triumphal Entry is read. On pilgrimages to the Holy Land in Israel, the memorial church at Bethphage is sometimes included in tours of the Mount of Olives area. By tradition, the Palm Sunday procession is said to set out from this site.