Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus
Village of Marta, Miriam and Elazar, with Saller's 1949–53 church excavations
Found 1949 — Sylvester J. Saller (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum), excavations 1949–1953 before the building of Barluzzi's Church of St Lazarus (1954)
Where el-Azariyeh (Bethany), east slope of the Mount of Olives, 3 km from Jerusalem (West Bank (Palestinian Authority))
Dates from 1st century BCE – 12th century CE · Early Roman to Crusader · Ministry of Yeshua; final week before Passover
Now at In situ; Tomb of Lazarus and Franciscan Church of St Lazarus, el-Azariyeh; finds in the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum museum, Jerusalem
How Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus was found
Digging under the ruined medieval church east of the tomb exposed four superimposed churches: a 4th-century basilica with mosaic floors, a 5th–6th-century rebuild, and Crusader-era churches with the Benedictine convent of Queen Melisende (1138). Rock-cut tombs, cisterns, presses and Herodian-period pottery and coins came from the village around the site.
What it is
The traditional tomb is a rock-cut chamber reached today by 24 steep steps cut in the 16th century after the original entrance was enclosed by a mosque; inside is an antechamber and a small burial room with three niches, a typical first-century Jewish tomb type. Beside it Saller found the foundations and mosaics of the 4th-century church that Jerome mentions in 390 CE, with later Byzantine and Crusader rebuilds, and evidence that the village itself was occupied from the 6th century BCE through the Roman period.
Why it matters for the Bible
Bethany is where Yeshua stayed during his last week, where Miriam anointed him, and where he raised Elazar (Lazarus) from a tomb 'with a stone laid against it' (John 11). Saller's dig showed the tomb was venerated already in the 4th century, when Eusebius and the Bordeaux Pilgrim (333 CE) knew it, and confirmed a real Jewish village of the right date. The Arabic name el-Azariyeh preserves 'Lazarium', the Byzantine name for the place. Whether this specific chamber was Elazar's tomb cannot be proven; that the tradition is early and the tomb type correct is what archaeology can say.
The Hebrew word: KEH-ver
קֶבֶר
קֶבֶר is pronounced KEH-ver and means tomb, grave — the rock-cut burial chamber sealed with a stone (Strong's H6913).
People this discovery connects to
- Lazarus — אֶלְעָזָר (El-ah-ZAHR) — God has helped
- Martha — מָרְתָא (MAR-tah) — lady, mistress (Aramaic)
- Mary of Bethany — מִרְיָם (Meer-YAHM) — uncertain; perhaps 'beloved' or 'bitter'
Places
- Bethany — בֵּית עַנְיָה (Beit An-YAH) — house of the poor / house of Ananiah
Events
Raising of Lazarus (John 11) · Anointing at Bethany (John 12, Mark 14) · Ascension from near Bethany (Luke 24:50)
Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus in Scripture
Matthew 21:17 First mention of Bethany in Scripture.
John 11:18 Bethany is 'about two miles' (fifteen stadia) from Jerusalem, exactly the distance of el-Azariyeh.
John 11:38-44 The tomb of Lazarus was a cave with a stone across it; the venerated chamber is a rock-cut tomb of the first-century type.
Questions people ask
What is Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus?
The traditional tomb is a rock-cut chamber reached today by 24 steep steps cut in the 16th century after the original entrance was enclosed by a mosque; inside is an antechamber and a small burial room with three niches, a typical first-century Jewish tomb type. Beside it Saller found the foundations and mosaics of the 4th-century church that Jerome mentions in 390 CE, with later Byzantine and Crusader rebuilds, and evidence that the village itself was occupied from the 6th century BCE through the Roman period.
When was Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus discovered?
It was found in 1949 by Sylvester J. Saller (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum), excavations 1949–1953 before the building of Barluzzi's Church of St Lazarus (1954), at el-Azariyeh (Bethany), east slope of the Mount of Olives, 3 km from Jerusalem.
Where is Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus today?
In situ; Tomb of Lazarus and Franciscan Church of St Lazarus, el-Azariyeh; finds in the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum museum, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does Bethany (el-Azariyeh) and the Tomb of Lazarus relate to?
Matthew 21:17, John 11:18, John 11:38-44.
Related discoveries
- פַּגBethphage and the Crusader 'Bethphage Stone'Starting point of the Palm Sunday ride, with a painted 12th-century mounting block
- עַצְמוֹתJoseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus)The domed shrine where tradition says Yosef's bones were buried; never excavated
- בָּרוּךְ ... לַיהוהKhirbet el-Qom Tomb Inscription'Uriyahu... blessed by YHVH... by his Asherah' — a Judahite tomb blessing with a carved hand
- קֶבֶרNazareth Inscription (Decree of Caesar)Greek edict threatening death for tomb-robbing — once tied to the empty tomb, now traced to Kos
- אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַבַּיִתRoyal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?)'This is the tomb of ...yahu who is over the house' — a Jerusalem tomb Isaiah may have condemned
- גֻּלְגֹּלֶתChurch of the Holy Sepulchre: Golgotha and the TombA 1st-century quarry, garden and rock-cut tombs beneath the traditional site of the crucifixion and burial
Sources
- S. J. Saller, Excavations at Bethany (1949–1953), Studium Biblicum Franciscanum 12 (Jerusalem 1957)
- Wikipedia, 'Tomb of Lazarus'
- See the Holy Land, 'Bethany'
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