Bethany: Tomb of Lazarus

The village of Bethany (al-Eizariya) on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, c. 1890–1900.Photochrom, Library of Congress · no known restrictions on publication

In the Bible

At Bethany Jesus called Lazarus out of his tomb, a cave closed with a stone. Six days before the Passover He dined there, and Mary anointed His feet with nard.

John 11:38–44Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.” Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.” After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.

John 12:1–3Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Mark 14:3While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.

Tradition

By tradition, the tomb is the rock-cut chamber reached by steps from the street; pilgrims have prayed here since at least the 4th century.

Here today

The tomb, entered down steep steps; a Franciscan church of 1954 over three earlier churches, and a Greek Orthodox church of 1965.

Through the eyes of old pilgrims

A mile and a half to the eastward is the village (villa) called Bethany. There is a vault (crypta) in which Lazarus, whom the Lord raised, was laid.The Bordeaux Pilgrim, 333

When they come to the Lazarium the whole crowd assembles, so that not only the place itself, but the fields all round, are full of people.Egeria, c. 381–384

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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).