Bethany.

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Ben C. Smith
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Bethany.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

I have recently posted about Bethphage, so I thought I might as well also post about Bethany. Most of this material is inspired by "Essene Community Houses and Jesus' Early Community," an article by Brian J. Capper in Jesus and Archaeology, though others have treated the same topic.

Bethany is Βηθανία in Greek. There is some debate about the second half of the etymology (the first half, beth, being Hebrew for "house"), but the simplest derivation is from the Hebrew עָנִי, which means "poor" or "afflicted" (thus giving us "house of the poor" or "house of the afflicted"). Jerome was aware of this derivation, writing in his work on Hebrew names:

Migne, Patrologia Latina 23, columns 839-840: Bethania, domus adflictionis eius, vel domus obedientiae.

I am honestly not sure about the "house of obedience" bit, but "house of his affliction" is consonant with the Hebrew derivation from עָנִי.

Now, there is a Qumran text which posits the existence of three settlements east of Jerusalem for people suffering from leprosy and other afflictions which would render them unclean:

11Q19, column 46: 1 [...] ... [... its border so that there does] not si[t any] 2 unclean bird on [my] tem[ple ... and] on the roofs of the gates [which lead] 3 to the outer courtyard, and any [unclean bird shall not be able to] be in the middle of my temple for eve[r] 4 and for all the days, for [I dwel]l in their midst. [Blank.] 5 [Blank.] And you shall make a platform around the outer courtyard, 6 fourteen cubits wide, corresponding to the openings of all the gates; 7 and you shall make twelve steps for it, upon which the children of Israel will ascend 8 to enter my temple. [Blank.] 9 And you shall make a trench around the temple, one hundred cubits wide, which will 10 separate the holy temple from the city, and they will not enter suddenly 11 my temple and will not defile it. And they shall sanctify my temple and they shall be afraid of my temple, 12 for I dwell in their midst. [Blank.] 13 And you shall make latrines for them outside the city, where they shall go, 14 outside, to the North-west of the city: houses with beams and pits in their midst 15 into which excrement shall drop and shall /not/ be visible for anyone, at a distance 16 from the city of three thousand cubits. [Blank.] You shall make 17 three places to the east of the city, separate from each other, to which shall 18 come the lepers and those afflicted with a discharge and the men who have an emission of semen.

11Q20, column 13: 1 [thousand cubits. [Blank.] And you shall m]ak[e three places east of the city, separated from each other, to which shall] 2 [come the lepers, those afflicted with discharge] and the men who ha[ve had a nocturnal emission ....] 3 And those who | come [...] 4 far fr[om ...] 5 and all [...] 6 matter, and ... [...] 7 [...] 8 and ... [...] 9 and y[ou] will lead down [... upwards and not downwards ...] 10 and th[eir] cities [pure and ....]

This same text, as one can see, also buffers the city from uncleanness by three thousand cubits. We would expect the three settlements in question, therefore, to lie outside this perimeter. A cubit is about 18 inches, so two cubits are about one yard. Therefore 3000 cubits = 1000 yards (= just over half a mile or just under one kilometer). Here is a map of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives:

Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethphage.jpg
Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethphage.jpg (107.05 KiB) Viewed 2144 times

I have no proof that Bethany was envisioned as being one of those three settlements for lepers and other unclean persons, but one can see that it lies outside the perimeter and to the east of the city, a perfect location for unclean visitors to Jerusalem to stay until they could be declared clean enough to perform rituals in the temple. Its name, "house of the poor" or "house of the afflicted," would certainly be a fitting one for such a settlement.

With these possibilities in mind, let us read the gospel texts which mention Bethany:

Mark 11.1-26: 1 As they approach Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sends two of His disciples, 2 and says to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." 4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untie it. 5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 They bring the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest!" 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. 12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening. 15 Then they come to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a robbers' den." 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening came, they would go out of the city. 20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Being reminded, Peter says to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." 22 And Jesus answers saying to them, "Have faith in God. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]

Mark 14.1-11: 1 Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; 2 for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people." 3 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her." 10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

Matthew 21.17: 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

Matthew 26.6-7: 6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it upon His head as He reclined at the table.

Luke 19.29-30: 29 And it came about that when He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, "Go into the village opposite you, in which as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it, and bring it here."

Luke 24.50-53: 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising God.

John 11.1-46: 1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it." 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He says to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." 8 The disciples says to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?" 9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." 11 This He said, and after that He says to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." 12 The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him." 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." 17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus says to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha says to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She says to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." 28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." 29 And when she heard it, she gets up quickly and was coming to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and said, "Where have you laid him?" They says to Him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?" 38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus says, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, says to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus says to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" 41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me." 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus says to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." 45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

John 12.1-11: 12 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, says, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." 9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

Two more Lucan texts, simply because they bear parallels to the Johannine Lazarus story:

Luke 10.38-42: 38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord's word, seated at His feet. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Luke 16.19-31: 19 "Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. 20 "And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' 27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house — 28 for I have five brothers — that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "But he said, 'No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'"

Bethany beyond the Jordan in the fourth canonical gospel appears to designate a different place:

John 1.19-28: 19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he says, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said." 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

This Bethany is not intended to be the one near Jerusalem. The other references to Bethany in the gospels, however, all appear to be to the village just east of Jerusalem.

That the anointing of Jesus took place in Bethany is interesting, right? "The poor you always have with you," indeed. And in Mark and Matthew this happens in the house of Simon the leper, while John says that the anointing woman was Mary, Lazarus of Bethany's sister. I think Bethany appears in these narratives for its value as a refuge for the poor and afflicted, certainly in name (its etymology) but also possibly in fact (perhaps that is exactly how Bethany actually functioned).

Ben.
Last edited by Ben C. Smith on Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Secret Alias
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Re: Bethany.

Post by Secret Alias »

I think there is evidence in the rabbinic literature (from memory) as to a 'house of the poor' associated with the minim. But I forget exactly where it appears.
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Charles Wilson
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Re: Bethany.

Post by Charles Wilson »

From Vic Alexander's Aramaic Translation, "Dalmanutha" => "Land of Oppression", referring to the Pharisees.

CW
Kunigunde Kreuzerin
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Re: Bethany.

Post by Kunigunde Kreuzerin »

Giuseppe wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2024 7:07 am For example, see what William Benjamin Smith wrote about Bethany:

This Bethany is in the Syriac and therefore in the Aramaic Beth "ania" and this latter word has been variously interpreted incorrectly. The corresponding Hebrew stem recurs continually in the Old Testament in the primary sense of vex, afflict, and the derived sense of poor ("ani"). Now in Luke X, 40, it is said that Martha was vexing herself, and the Syriac word is precisely this same "ania," as it is also in the Sinaitic Syriac at John xii, 2 (as noted by Nestle, Phil. Sac, p. 20, and as it now stands in Burkitt's monumental Evangelion da-Mepharreshe, p. 492), where the received text in all the languages now presents served. Bethany, then, means house of her that vexes herself, and we see why John has made it the home of the self- vexing Martha. Whether there ever was such a village need not here be discussed. The obvious suggestion is that the name designates Judea or the Jewish nationality, the home of her that received the Jesus when he came thither from the Dispersion

(Ecce Deus, p. 105, n. 1, my bold)
imho there are some problems

- Reading the gospels in perfect harmony, one can believe because of GJohn (with the stories about Lazarus, Mary and Martha in Bethany) that the action of Luke 10:38ff (with Mary and Martha) takes place in Bethany. However, within Luke's very unclear geography, the unnamed location in GLuke 10:38ff is still very far from Jerusalem, most likely still in Galilee. William Benjamin Smith's theory seems to mix Luke's story with John's place name. The question arises from where Mark and Matthew got the place name with this meaning.

- Luke 10:40 says that Martha was driven around, busy, distracted (περιεσπᾶτο) by much work (physically and/or mentally). However, this does not express an emotion, but rather a state.
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Re: Bethany.

Post by Kunigunde Kreuzerin »

.
Because Ben has done such a nice OP about Bethany here, I would like to add that imho Bethany is the main argument why "Secret Mark" was not written by Mark.
Ben C. Smith wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 7:38 am Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethphage.jpg
...
With these possibilities in mind, let us read the gospel texts which mention Bethany:

Mark 11.1-26: 1 As they approach Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sends two of His disciples, ... 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. 12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; ...

Mark 14.1-11:... 3 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. ...

...
The other references to Bethany in the gospels, however, all appear to be to the village just east of Jerusalem.
...
I think Bethany appears in these narratives for its value as a refuge for the poor and afflicted, certainly in name (its etymology) but also possibly in fact (perhaps that is exactly how Bethany actually functioned).
Jesus' route to Jerusalem in GMark is Galilee (Mark 9:30) - Judea and beyond the Jordan (Mark 10:1) - Jericho (Mark 10:46) - Jerusalem with Bethphage and Bethany (Mark 11:1). As Ben rightly explains, in GMark Bethany only plays a role as a small village in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem. Bethany first appears in GMark during the royal entry into Jerusalem and is the place where Jesus spends the night after his daytime activities in Jerusalem.

The author of "Secret Mark" made a crucial mistake when he inserted his Bethany scene between GMark 10:34-35. He did not place Bethany in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem, but even before Jericho. This is a clear violation of Mark's geography. The reason for this is that he essentially took the idea for the Bethany scene from GJohn, in which Jericho does not appear. (In GJohn, Bethany only plays a role before the royal entrance.)

Wiki: The first passage, Clement says, was inserted between Mark 10:34 and 35; after the paragraph where Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem with the disciples makes the third prediction of his death, and before Mark 10:35–45 where the disciples James and John ask Jesus to grant them honor and glory.[103] ... According to Clement, the passage reads word for word (Biblical Greek: κατὰ λέξιν, romanized: kata lexin):[104]
And they come into Bethany. And a certain woman whose brother had died was there. And, coming, she prostrated herself before Jesus and says to him ...

Secret Alias
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Re: Bethany.

Post by Secret Alias »

This is also the argument for why Morton Smith didn't write Secret Mark. Brown “Bethany Beyond the Jordan: John 1:28 and the Longer Gospel of Mark.” Revue Biblique 100 (2003): 497–516.

But it goes to the whole heart of the matter. I know you KK. You have a belief in the "correctness" of the canonical set. Somehow, somewhere the Church, in your mind, strove to preserve "the truth" for us and the canonical gospels as preserved by the Church are accepted as correct by you and those who engage with. But this is stupid. There isn't much more to say. It's not like God handed the gospel of Mark as it is to the Church and the Church strove to preserve "the truth." You just want things to be this way so you have the ability to make up theories with a good conscience. It's the "my mom was a good person" argument. Surely someone somewhere had a bad mother.

There were disputes about the correctness of the New Testament. The fact that the Church preserved a certain set of scriptures makes it more unlikely that they were original. Why so? How on earth are there four gospels? There should be one gospel if the Church was preserving "the truth." No one bundles together one text and two forgeries if any of the texts are forgeries (which Matthew and Luke are) and say "this is the truth." By their bundling all the canonical texts are likely forgeries especially as we know, circumstantially, that the four were directed against the Marcionite gospel.

Whether or not we know what the Marcionite gospel looked like is what holds you up. Because we can't prove what the Marcionite gospel looked like you choose Mark bundled with three forgeries. Why? Because there is a stability about the tradition. But mistaking stability for authenticity is why most people are so unhappy in their marriages.

But again "there is a problem with Secret Mark" because - quite frankly - you believe there is "something right" with the canonical set of four gospels already identified as forgeries by the Marcionites. That's what you do. That's what everyone does. Watch Interessengebiet. You know only half of my family was Jewish. My other side to family grew up in Schoeneck. They too looked around them and derived "what was right" and "what was wrong" by what everyone else was believing and doing around them.
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