BETH-PALET (ths ; Sept. BempaNcl0), a town in the south of Judah ( Josh. xv. 27). It is the same place as Beth-Phclet, mentioned Neb. xi. 26, as one of the places inhabited by the Jews after the Captivity. From this comes the Gentile +unn, the Paltite, 2 Sam. xxiii. 26.—t BETIIPIIAGE (BnOcbct.-H ; Aram. fah House of figs'), a village on the eastern declivity of the Mount of Olives (Matt. xxi. I), on the lead ing road to Jericho, and not far from Bethany (Mark xi. I). Our Lord, in journeying from Jericho to Jerusalem, is said to have come unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives.' From this some have concluded that the former lay to the east of the latter ; but the words are by no means definite, as may be seen by comparing Mark xi. w:th Luke xix. 29. The villages appear to have stood in close proximity.
It appears from the Talmud that a portion of the eastern suburb of Jerusalem was called Bethphage, and Lightfoot hence infers that there was no village of that name on Olivet, but that some buildings beyond the walls of the city were so called (Opp. ii. 44, ed. Roterod.) This, however, is opposed to the plain statement of the gospels, where a village is unquestionably referred to. The allusion in the Talmud is easily explained. The large cities in the East—Damascus for example—are divided into ' quarters ;' and it is not unusual to find those quarters which lie on the outskirts bearing the names of villages near them. So the quarter of Jerusalem lying next the village of Bethphage bore its name (see the quotations from the Talmud in Lightfoot, Opp. ii. 198). We would therefore conclude from the references in the Talmud, that Bethphage was situated between Bethany and Jeru salem ; and so Jerome states (Reland. Palest. p.
653). Von Raumer defines its position with great minuteness—' Descending about too steps from the top of the Mount of Olives; the place is seen where Bethphage stood, though no ruin remains at this day to mark the spot ; fifteen stadia farther down, or a short half-hour from Jerusalem, we reach Bethany' (see Lange on St. Matt. xxi. 1). The latter measurement is manifestly wrong; and for the site of Bethphage he has no better authority than monkish tradition. Dr. Olin (Travel; ii. 321) discovered what he supposed to be the site of Beth phage about a quarter of a mile north of Bethany. The writer has examined the spot. If any village ever stood there, which is uncertain, it was most probably Bahurim.
There is just one ancient site between Bethany and Jerusalem which might possibly be that of Bethphage. It is about one-third of a mile west of Bethany, and about 2oo yards to the left of the road. It is separated from Bethany by a low ridge and a deep glen. If we suppose Jesus to have gained the top of the intervening ridge when He said to His disciples, Go into the village over against you ;' and if that village, as it seems, was Bethphage, then these ruins on the opposite bank of the glen would answer well to the description (Handbook for S. and P. p. 189). In the glen and on the adjoining ridges are many fig trees, to remind us of the appropriateness of the name house of figs,' and of the remarkable incident recorded in Matt. xxi. 19.—J. L. P.