One other person, place or group in the registry answers to the name Bethany. Every Bethany in the Bible
place
Bethany
Βηθανία
- verses
- 12
- first named
- Matthew 21:17
- last named
- John 12:2
- feature
- settlement
- coordinates
- 31.77°N · 35.26°E
Al Eizariya (OpenBible)
The gazetteer records one identification, and no competing one.
Description
Bethany in the text
Bethany was a village located about two miles east of Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. It is mentioned frequently in the Gospels, particularly in connection with Jesus' ministry and the family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who were close friends of Jesus.
Jesus often visited Bethany and stayed with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42; Jhn.12.1-3). It was in Bethany that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, performing one of His most significant miracles (Jhn.11.1-44). This event took place shortly before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Jhn.12.1, 9-11).
Bethany was also the place where Jesus was anointed by Mary, who poured expensive perfume on His feet and wiped them with her hair (Matthew 26:6-13; Mrk.14.3-9; Jhn.12.1-8). This act of devotion took place in the house of Simon the leper, and it was criticized by Judas Iscariot as a waste of money.
In the Synoptic Gospels, Bethany is mentioned in connection with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1, 17; Mrk.11.1, 11-12; Luke 19:29). Jesus sent two of His disciples to Bethany to find a colt for Him to ride into Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.
After His resurrection, Jesus led His disciples out as far as Bethany before ascending into heaven (Luke 24:50-51). The village held a special place in Jesus' ministry, serving as a place of rest, friendship, and significant events.
In Jhn.1.28, a different Bethany is mentioned, which is specified as "Bethany beyond the Jordan." This Bethany was located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, where John the Baptist was baptizing people. It should not be confused with the Bethany near Jerusalem.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The pattern
Where Bethany is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
12 verses across 4 of 66 books; 62 write the name nowhere. Named in Matthew (2), Mark (4), Luke (2) and John (4).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 12, across 4 books.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
What happened here
Atlas's reading of each chapter this place appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- Matthew 21Bethany received Jesus for the night after the temple crowds and controversies.
- Matthew 26Bethany was the setting for the woman’s lavish anointing of Jesus at Simon’s home.
- Mark 11Bethany is where Jesus spends the night after inspecting the temple courts and where he leaves the next morning.
- Mark 14In Bethany, a woman pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ head at Simon the Leper’s house.
- Luke 19Bethany was approached with Bethphage as Jesus went on toward Jerusalem.
- John 11Bethany is where Lazarus lives, where mourners gather, and where Jesus meets the sisters and opens the tomb.
Sources