Bethany (Hebrew: בֵּית עַנְיָה, Arabic: العيزريه al-Eizariya or Place of Lazarus), is a Palestinian village of 4,000 inhabitants[1] located on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles (3 km) from Jerusalem.
The New Testament records Bethany as the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, as well as that of Simon the Leper. Jesus is reported to have lodged there after his entry into Jerusalem, and it was from Bethany that he parted from his disciples.
The oldest house in present-day al-Eizaraya is a 2,000 year old dwelling that has attracted pilgrims who believe it might have been the House of Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus.[1]
Christian sources give a meaning to the toponym, “house of dates”, or “house of misery”, but the Jewish Encyclopedia states: “The figs (Hebr., “te’enah”), which are also mentioned in the Talmud, probably gave the place its name”.
Another hypothesis put forward by William F. Albright in 1923 regarding the etymology of the name proposed that Bethany could well derive its name from the Hananyah tribe of Benjamin who returned from the exile and settled in this area according to Nehemiah 11:32. Beit Hananyah would thus translate as House of Hananyah. Mariam Shahin notes in her book Palestine: A Guide that Bethany was once called Beit Annia.[1]
Between 6th century BCE and 14th century CE, Bethany is believed to have been continuously inhabitated.[1]
In 1138 Queen Melisende of Jerusalem, wife of King Fulk of Jerusalem, founded a cloister of nuns at Bethany, ruled by her sister, Ioveta, thenceforward "of Bethany". Sibylla, later Queen of Jerusalem was raised in the abbey, whose ruins have not been identified. Melisende died there in 1163; her step-daughter Sibylla of Anjou also died there in 1165.
Since the beginning of the 16th century CE, almost all of the town's inhabitants have been Muslim. The Ottomans built al-Ozir mosque in the city to serve the town's inhabitants and named it in honor of the town's patron saint, Lazarus.[1] For 100 years after it was constructed, Christians were invited to worship in it, but the practice was frowned upon by European church authorities who felt separating the denominations was a better option.[1]
The Catholic Encyclopedia reported in 1908 that the modern village was centered on the cave that was associated with the raising of Lazarus, which had become an early pilgrimage site, and that the site of the village mentioned in the New Testament was a little distance away, higher up on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. There are ongoing excavations at a site just beyond the House of Martha and Mary.[1] Just west of it is the house of Simon the Leper, which is known by locals as the Tower of Lazarus and is operated by the Greek Orthodox Church.[1]
A Franciscan Church designed by Antonio Barluzzi and built in 1954 marks the spot of the Tomb of Lazarus and its gardens contain the remnants of a mosaic floor from an earlier church built in the 4th century CE.[1]
In the early 20th century, visitors counted 40 family dwellings in village.[1] Today, the village suffers from overcrowding, due to rapid expansion, a lack of proper town planning, and general neglect from decades of occupation.[1] Much of the rich agricultural land that produced figs, almonds, olives and carob has been lost and many of the original inhabitants now live in Jordan, the United States, and the Gulf countries.[1] Real estate speculation and the opening of many bank branches briefly accompanied expectations that the Palestinian Authority would set up its seat of government in East Jerusalem.[1]
A place Bethany on the east bank of the Jordan River is mentioned in Gospel of John 1:28. Its exact location is unclear. In fact, the only mention of this “Bethany” is to be found only in Gospel of John 1:28.
In the to the King James Version (following Textus Receptus of the New Testament) the place where John the Baptist baptized (John 1:28) was not called Bethany, but Bethabara.
KJV is the only English version of the New Testament that refers to “Bethany on the east bank of the Jordan River”, the place where John the Baptist baptized, as “Bethabara”. Most other English versions (Douay-Rheims Bible, NIV, NASB, NLT, RSV, IBS, DARBY) call it Bethany.