Beth'any

Beth'any ('house of dates'), by the natives of Palestine called 'El' Azariyeh' or 'Lazariyeh' ('town of Lazarus'), is situated on the southern slope of the Mount of Olives, 2208 feet above the sea, 2 miles ESE. of Jerusalem. It was the home of Lazarus and his sisters, often visited by the Saviour, and the scene of his ascension. Ecclesiastical buildings were erected here in the 4th century, but it is now a poor place of some 200 inhabitants. There is nothing remarkable about the village except the reputed house of Martha and Mary, and the cave or grave of Lazarus shown by the monks. Major Conder thinks it more likely that the tomb of Lazarus is one of the rock-cut sepulchres beside the Jericho road, east of Bethany.—Bethany is also the name that has been given to three German mission stations in South Africa; one in Great Namaqualand, one in the Orange Free State, and one in the Transvaal.