BETHANIA. — Name of two localities in Palestine. 1) A village near Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about 15 stadia (ca. 2800 m) from Jerusalem (Jn 11:18), best known as the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, in whose house Jesus loved to stay.
From there He set out for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and returned there that same evening (Lk 19:29; Mk 11:11; Mt 21:17), and again on the evenings of the following days before the Passion. Nearby
is the traditional site of the Ascension (Acts 1:12). Bethania BETHESDA (v.), where Jacob had the famous dream of the ladder (Gen 28:11-22). Many biblical memories are linked to its history. Abraham, upon entering the land of Canaan, pitched AHAI (v.) and erected an altar to the Lord there; he stopped there and invoked the name of the Lord on his return from Egypt (Gen 12:8; 13:3, where the name of Bethania is used anticipatorily). Jacob again stopped at Bethania on his return from Mesopotamia and there prescribed a religious purification for his household (Gen 35:1-8). Later, the name Bethania also extended to the ancient Canaanite city of Luz or Luza (= “the almond trees”), located in the immediate vicinity. With the conquest of the Promised Land, Bethania was assigned to the tribe of Benjamin (Jos 18:22), but in fact it passed to that of Ephraim, having been captured (Judg 1:22-26) by the descendants of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). In the time of the Judges, in difficult circumstances, the Israelites went there to consult the Lord and offer sacrifices (Judg 20:18-26; 21:2). During the reign of Jeroboam I, the golden calf was worshipped there (1 Kgs 12:29-33).
On the site of ancient Bethania, 19 km from Jerusalem, to the right of the road to Shechem-Nablus, stands the village (ca. 600 inhabitants) of Béthin, where excavations by W. F. Albright (1928 and 1934) revealed the imposing fortified works (20th–19th centuries BC) of the ancient Canaanite city, whose prosperity declined around 1300 BC.