BETHANY
(a) Town on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about 3 km from Jerusalem, near the road to Jericho. It was where Lazarus, Martha and Mary resided (Jn. 11:1; 12:1), and also Simon the leper, where one of Jesus’ anointings took place (Mt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3) .
It was near Bethany that the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven (Mt. 21:17; 26:6; Mark 11:1, 11, 12; 14:3; Luke 19:29; 24:50; John 11: 1, 18; 12:1). It is now a ruined and poor village called “el-Azariyeh”, or “Lazariyeh” (the town of Lazarus).
In place of the luxuriant date palms of the past, olive trees, fig trees, and pomegranates grow today.
(b) East of the Jordan, the town where John baptized when the Lord Jesus returned after the temptation (John 1:28; cp. 10:40).