Bethany across the Jordan
A place in the Bible
A place on the east bank of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing. It is not the Bethany of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
What happened here
- John the Baptist: John was baptizing there when he testified about Jesus.
- The first disciples: the next day, John was there with two of his disciples. He saw Jesus walk by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” One of the two was Andrew.
- Jesus came back: later, Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first baptized, and he stayed there.
Today
No one knows for sure where it was. Today it is identified with Al-Maghtas, on the bank of the Jordan in the country of Jordan.
Where it appears in the Bible
John 1:28; John 1:35-36; John 1:40; John 10:40
What the Bible says
John 1:28
These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:35-36
35The next day again John stood, and two of his disciples. 36And beholding Jesus walking, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God.
John 1:40
And Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard of John, and followed him.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: John 1:28; UNESCO, “Baptism Site ‘Bethany Beyond the Jordan’ (Al-Maghtas)”; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Bethabara”