The 'house of dates,' a village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles from Jerusalem, near the road to Jericho. It was where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary resided, in whose house the Lord found a resting place, amidst those whom He loved, and who were ever ready to welcome Him, and to devote the best of their substance to Him. It was from or near Bethany that the Lord ascended. Matthew 21:17; Matthew 26:6; Mark 11:1,11,12; Mark 14:3; Luke 19:29; Luke 24:50; John 11:1,18; John 12:1 . It is now a ruinous and wretched hamlet called el Azariyeh, or 'Lazariyeh,' from Lazarus, 31 46' N, 35 15' E .
Some of the Greek MSS read BETHANY in John 1:28 where John was baptizing on the east of the Jordan.