Bethphage
{{short description|Ancient biblical town}}
Bethphage ({{langx|grc|Βηθφαγή|Bēthpagḗ}}; {{langx|arc|בֵּית פַּגִּי|Bêṯ Paggî|lit=house of unripe figs}})Strong's G967 {{Strong-number|Bēthpagē|G|967}} or Bethsphage,In some manuscripts ({{cite book|last=Picirilli|first=Robert E.|title=The Gospel of Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5VVcEmE6ZJMC&pg=PA303|year=2003|publisher=Randall House Publications|isbn=978-0-89265-500-7|page=303}}), but not in critical editions of the New Testament such as Novum Testamentum Graece, the primary source for most New Testament translations ([http://www.nestle-aland.com/en/read-na28-online/text/bibeltext/lesen/stelle/51/110001/119999/ Nestle Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, Mk 1:11]). is a Christian religious site on the Mount of Olives east of historical Jerusalem.
The Synoptic Gospels mention Jesus stopping in Bethphage before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There is an annual Catholic Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem, as there is a Greek Orthodox one (the respective feasts seldom fall on the same day), both beginning in Bethphage.{{cite web|url=http://www.seetheholyland.net/bethphage/|title=Bethphage « See The Holy Land|publisher=seetheholyland.net|access-date=2015-10-18|archive-date=2015-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630034828/http://www.seetheholyland.net/bethphage/}}{{cite web |title= Palm Sunday Procession FROM Bethphage to the Lion's Gate |publisher= [Greek Orthodox] Patriarchate of Jerusalem |date= 24 April 2021 |url=https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/liturgic-life/palm-sunday-procession-from-bethphage-to-the-lions-gate/ |access-date= 25 February 2025}}
New Testament
Bethphage is mentioned in the New Testament as the place in ancient Israel to which Jesus sent his disciples to find a colt upon which he would ride into Jerusalem. The Synoptic Gospels mention it as being close to Bethany, where he was staying immediately prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.Matt. 21:1, Mark 11:1, Luke 19:29Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land by Avraham Negev 2005 {{ISBN|0-8264-8571-5}} page 80The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700 by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor 2008 {{ISBN|0-19-923666-6}} page 150
Unknown villagers living there, the owners of the colt according to Gospel of Luke 19:33, permitted Jesus' disciples to take the colt away for Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which would have been four days before Passover.
Location
Bethphage is about {{convert|2|km}} from the modern village of al-Azariya.
Eusebius (Onom 58:13) located it on the Mount of Olives. It was likely on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and the limit of a Sabbath-day's journey from Jerusalem,[https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3225-bethphage Jastrow, Jr., Morris and Levi, Gerson B., "Bethphage", Jewish Encyclopedia] i.e., 2,000 cubits.{{cn|date= February 2025}}
Churches and monasteries
The Franciscan Church of Bethphage was built on the foundations of a 12th-century crusader chapel.[https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/bethphage "Bethphage", Custodia Terrae Sanctae]{{failed verification |URL rot. New page has no info beyond new name (Betfage - Monastery of the Palms) & contact details. When accessed? Covered what? |date= February 2025}}
Just up the hill from the Catholic church is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Palm-bearing Bethphage. The Greek Orthodox mark the feast day every year at the site.[https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/holy-pilgrimage-sites/holy-shrines-outside-jerusalem/ "Holy Shrines outside Jerusalem", Jerusalem Patriarchate]. Retrieved 24 Feb 2025.
References
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{{New Testament places associated with Jesus}}
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