Bethany

In Scripture

In the Bible, the name Bethany appears only in the New Testament Gospels.

• The raising of Lazarus: The Gospel of John, chapter 11, introduces Bethany as the village where Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus lived (John 11:1). There Jesus raised Lazarus, who had been dead four days (the raising of Lazarus).
• The anointing: Mark 14:3–9 and Matthew 26:6–13 record that in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany a woman poured costly ointment on Jesus' head. John 12:1–8 records that six days before the Passover, in Bethany, Mary anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair.
• Lodging during Holy Week: After the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus went out to Bethany to spend the nights (Mark 11:11; Matthew 21:17). The next day, as He was coming from Bethany, the cursing of the fig tree took place (Mark 11:12–14).
• The Ascension: Luke 24:50–51 records that Jesus led His disciples out as far as Bethany, blessed them, and was carried up into heaven.

Location and Name

John 11:18 states that Bethany was about fifteen stadia from Jerusalem; the King James Version reads "about fifteen furlongs off." The Korean Revised Version renders this as "about five li," a distance of a little under 3 km (about 2 miles). Bethany is thought to have stood on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. The present-day Palestinian village of al-Eizariya is identified as its site; its Arabic name is said to derive from the name of Lazarus. The village contains a site traditionally called the Tomb of Lazarus. Various meanings have been proposed for the name, such as "house of figs" and "house of the poor," but none has been established.

The "Bethany beyond Jordan" of John 1:28, where John the Baptist was baptizing, is a different place from the Bethany near Jerusalem. Some manuscripts read "Bethabara" at this point. Scholars differ on its exact location.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the Gospels, Bethany is the village of the friends who welcomed Jesus before He entered Jerusalem, and it is the threshold at which the Passion narrative begins. In John's Gospel, the raising of Lazarus prompts the chief priests to begin plotting to put Jesus to death (John 11:45–53). In both Mark and John, the anointing is connected with Jesus' burial (Mark 14:8; John 12:7).

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Luke 10:38–42 does not name the village of Martha and Mary. Identifying this village as Bethany is an interpretation based on John's account.
• Interpreters differ on whether the anointing in Mark and Matthew and the anointing in John are the same event, and on how they relate to the incident in Galilee recorded in Luke 7:36–50. The Gospels also differ on who objected to the waste of the ointment: Mark says "some," Matthew says "his disciples," and John names Judas Iscariot.
• In the Western church, beginning with Pope Gregory I in the late sixth century, a tradition spread that identified Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene and with the woman of Luke 7. The text itself does not say this, however, and the Orthodox Church and most Protestant scholars distinguish the three women.
• Luke 24 places the Ascension "as far as to Bethany," while Acts 1:12 refers to "the mount called Olivet." Because Bethany lay on the slope of the Mount of Olives, the two accounts are commonly read as referring to the same area.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, the story of "the woman who broke the alabaster box" in Mark 14 is frequently cited in sermons on devotion. The story of Martha and Mary is also often used as a text on service and on listening to the Word. The name Bethany is likewise used for churches and prayer retreat centers.