Today, our journey through biblical locations brings us to Beit Anya, Bethany. Beit Anya, (Greek: Βηθανία) is recorded in the New Testament as the home of the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, as well as that of Simon the Leper. Located near Jerusalem, on the south-eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, Jesus is reported to have lodged there after his entry into Jerusalem, and it could be from Bethany that he parted from his disciples at the Ascension. This place, today a Palestinian village named al-Eizariya, was named as such after Lazarus, (Elazar in Hebrew). The meaning of the name Beit Anya, Bethany, is the House of Poor.
“He left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there”
There are many places named Bethany in North America, after the biblical Beit Anya: There is Bethany in Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, West Virginia, and in Ontario and Quebec in Canada.
Recent Comments