What does Βηθανία (Bēthanía) mean in the Bible?
Bethania names Bethany, a place name attached to more than one New Testament setting. John 1 speaks of Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Greek · G963
Βηθανία
Date-house; Beth-any, a place in Palestine
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Βηθανία G963
Pronunciation Bēthanía
What does Βηθανία (Bēthanía) mean in the Bible?
Bethania names Bethany, a place name attached to more than one New Testament setting. John 1 speaks of Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Reader summary
Full entry for Βηθανία (G963) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G963?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Bethany (12).
Where does Βηθανία (Bēthanía) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 21:17. Its strongest book concentrations include John (4), Mark (4), Luke (2), Matthew (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Bethania names Bethany, a place name attached to more than one New Testament setting. John 1 speaks of Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Other passages focus on Bethany near Jerusalem, the village associated with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, close enough to Jerusalem to become part of the final-week setting. In Bethany, Jesus is welcomed, loved, misunderstood, anointed, and followed toward the cross.
John names it as Lazarus's hometown after Jesus raised him from the dead. Mark places an anointing scene there in the home of Simon the Leper. Luke names Bethany as the area near Jesus' ascension blessing. The word helps readers keep place, friendship, grief, devotion, and witness together without making the name itself carry more than the passages give it.
How the Bible Uses It
Bethania names Bethany, including the baptismal location beyond the Jordan and the village near Jerusalem associated with Lazarus, hospitality, costly devotion, and Jesus' ascension blessing.
- John.1.28
All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1 locates John's baptismal ministry at Bethany beyond the Jordan.
- John.11.1
At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
John 11 identifies Bethany as the village of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
- John.11.18
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away,
John notes Bethany's nearness to Jerusalem, which matters for witnesses and opposition.
- John.12.1
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
Jesus comes to Bethany six days before Passover, where Lazarus's resurrection remains in view.
- Mark.14.3
While 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.
Mark places costly anointing in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper.
- Luke.24.50
When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
Luke names Bethany as the place near which Jesus blesses His disciples before being carried up.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It Bethany 12× Matthew 21:17, Matthew 26:6, Mark 11:1, Mark 11:11
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 21:17 Βηθανίαν to Bethany Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 26:6 Βηθανίᾳ to Bethany Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Mark 11:1 Βηθανίαν to Bethany Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Mark 11:11 Βηθανίαν to Bethany Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Mark 11:12 Βηθανίας to Bethany Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Mark 14:3 Βηθανίᾳ to Bethany Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Luke 19:29 Βηθανίαν to Bethany Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Luke 24:50 Βηθανίαν to Bethany Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular John 1:28 Βηθανίᾳ to Bethany Noun - Dative Feminine Singular John 11:1 Βηθανίας to Bethany Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 21:17
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 4
Matthew 2 Mark 4 Luke 2 John 4
Source forms
Βηθανίαν 6x Bēthanian Matthew 21:17, Mark 11:1, Mark 11:11, Luke 19:29
Βηθανίᾳ 3x Bēthania Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, John 1:28
Βηθανίας 2x Bēthanias Mark 11:12, John 11:1
Βηθανία 1x Bēthania John 11:18
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 6x Matthew 21:17, Mark 11:1, Mark 11:11, Luke 19:29
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 3x Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, John 1:28
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 2x Mark 11:12, John 11:1
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x John 11:18
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not build application from the place name alone.
- Do not confuse the different Bethany locations when tracing John's witness.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that Bethany always refers to the village of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
- Do not claim that the name Bethany itself proves the theological point of a passage.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. date-house; Beth-any, a place in Palestine
Strong's G963
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Word forms 4 forms 12 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
date-house; Beth-any, a place in Palestine
Extended definition
:--Bethany.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 21:17 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίαν, bhqanian
Bethany
Read verse Matthew 26:6 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίᾳ bhqania
Bethany
Read verse Mark 11:1 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίαν, bhqanian
Bethany
Read verse Mark 11:11 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίαν bhqanian
Bethany
Read verse Mark 11:12 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
Βηθανίας, bhqaniav
Bethany
Read verse Mark 14:3 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίᾳ, bhqania
Bethany
Read verse Luke 19:29 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίαν bhqanian
Bethany
Read verse Luke 24:50 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίαν· bhqanian
Bethany
Read verse John 11:1 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
Βηθανίας, bhqaniav
Bethany
Read verse John 11:18 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
Βηθανία bhqania
Bethany
Read verse John 12:1 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
Βηθανίαν, bhqanian
Bethany
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 4 Aligned forms 12 Case pattern Accusative (6) Number pattern Singular (12)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine John 11:18 1×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Mark 11:12 · John 11:1 2×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Matt 26:6 · Mark 14:3 · John 1:28 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 21:17 · Mark 11:1 · Mark 11:11 · Luke 19:29 · Luke 24:50 · John 12:1 6×
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Bethania teaches careful readers to let place names stay anchored to their scenes. John 1's Bethany beyond the Jordan belongs to baptismal witness. John 11 and 12 bring readers to Bethany near Jerusalem, where Lazarus's sickness, death, resurrection, and table fellowship shape the final approach to Passover. Mark's Bethany scene highlights costly devotion in the shadow of Jesus' death.
Luke's final Bethany reference places Jesus blessing His disciples as He is carried up. The name therefore gathers several kinds of witness without collapsing them. Bethany is not a symbol to be filled at will. It is a set of real locations where Jesus is testified to, welcomed, loved, anointed, and seen as the risen and ascending Lord.
Anchor passage
John.12.1
Doctrinal connections
- G907 Baptizo: Bethany beyond the Jordan belongs to John's baptismal witness.
- G2976 Lazaros: Bethany near Jerusalem is tied to Lazarus, death, resurrection, and witness.
- G3137 Maria: Mary of Bethany connects the place with listening, grief, and costly devotion.
- G218 Aleipho: The anointing scene in Bethany points toward Jesus' burial and honor.
- G1453 Egeiro: Lazarus's resurrection gives Bethany a public witness before Passover.
- G2127 Eulogeo: Luke 24 connects the Bethany area with Jesus' final blessing before ascension.
Bethania is a proper noun. The same place name is used for Bethany beyond the Jordan and Bethany near Jerusalem, so context must identify the location.
From Old to New Testament
Bethany near Jerusalem stands within the broader biblical pattern of places near the holy city where revelation, rejection, worship, and hope converge. Its New Testament scenes should be read through Jesus' mission rather than through speculative meanings of the name.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain