Bethphage

Bethphage (Template:Langx; Template:Langx)<ref>Strong's G967 Template:Strong-number</ref> or Bethsphage,<ref>In some manuscripts (Template:Cite book), but not in critical editions of the New Testament such as Novum Testamentum Graece, the primary source for most New Testament translations (Nestle Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, Mk 1:11).</ref> is a Christian religious site on the Mount of Olives east of historical Jerusalem.

The Synoptic Gospels mention Jesus stopping in Bethphage before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There is an annual Catholic Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem, as there is a Greek Orthodox one (the respective feasts seldom fall on the same day), both beginning in Bethphage.<ref name= see>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name= GOP>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Franciscan Church of Bethphage

New Testament

Bethphage is mentioned in the New Testament as the place in ancient Israel to which Jesus sent his disciples to find a colt upon which he would ride into Jerusalem. The Synoptic Gospels mention it as being close to Bethany, where he was staying immediately prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.<ref>Matt. 21:1, Mark 11:1, Luke 19:29</ref><ref name= EncHoly80>Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land by Avraham Negev 2005 Template:ISBN page 80</ref><ref>The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700 by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor 2008 Template:ISBN page 150</ref>

Unknown villagers living there, the owners of the colt according to Gospel of Luke 19:33, permitted Jesus' disciples to take the colt away for Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which would have been four days before Passover.<ref name= see/>

Location

Bethphage is about Template:Convert from the modern village of al-Azariya.

Eusebius (Onom 58:13) located it on the Mount of Olives.<ref name=EncHoly80 /> It was likely on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and the limit of a Sabbath-day's journey from Jerusalem,<ref>Jastrow, Jr., Morris and Levi, Gerson B., "Bethphage", Jewish Encyclopedia</ref> i.e., 2,000 cubits.Template:Cn

Churches and monasteries

The Franciscan Church of Bethphage was built on the foundations of a 12th-century crusader chapel.<ref>"Bethphage", Custodia Terrae Sanctae</ref>Template:Failed verification

Just up the hill from the Catholic church is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Palm-bearing Bethphage. The Greek Orthodox mark the feast day every year at the site.<ref>"Holy Shrines outside Jerusalem", Jerusalem Patriarchate. Retrieved 24 Feb 2025.</ref>