Bethphage

Biblical History

Bethphage, meaning "house of unripe figs" in Aramaic, appears three times in the Synoptic Gospels, all in connection with the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each record that as Jesus approached Jerusalem from Jericho via Bethany, he sent two disciples ahead to Bethphage to retrieve a donkey and colt (Matthew 21:1-7; Mark 11:1-7; Luke 19:29-35).

This deliberate action fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: "Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey." From Bethphage, the procession descended the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem, with crowds spreading garments and palm branches on the road and crying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"

The choice of Bethphage as the staging point for this messianic entry was geographically and symbolically precise, it stood at the summit of the Mount of Olives, at the very threshold of the holy city, so that Jesus' entry from there carried the maximum visual and theological impact for those who watched from Jerusalem's walls and gates. Bethphage thus stands at the threshold between Jesus' Galilean ministry and the final week of his earthly life.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Bethphage is generally located on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives near the summit, in the area of modern et-Tur, an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem. Franciscan friars have maintained a presence at a traditional site on the Mount of Olives since the medieval period. A twelfth-century Crusader stone was discovered in the nineteenth century depicting the scene of the donkey being brought to Jesus, along with figures of Lazarus emerging from the tomb.

This carved stone, housed in the Franciscan Chapel of Bethphage, is one of the notable artifacts associated with the site. The chapel is still the starting point for the traditional Palm Sunday procession to Jerusalem, maintaining a living liturgical link to the Gospel event commemorated there annually.