BETHABARA bĕth ă’ bə rə (Βηθάβαρα, meaning house of crossing). A town on the E bank of the Jordan River.

The only mention of this town is in connection with John the Baptist’s activity at the Jordan River (John 1:28). The word Bethabara is supported only by inferior MSS and appears in the KJV. The weight of MS evidence supports the name “Bethany” (Aleph, A, and B, plus many early minuscules, VSS, and the church fathers).

This cannot be the same Bethany which is the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus since that is not “beyond the Jordan” as John 1:28 states. A scribal correction in Aleph renders it “Beth-araba,” which is a place on the plain of the Jordan not far from Jericho on the W bank (Josh 15:6, 61; 18:18). This name may be tr. as “house of the Arabah,” i.e., “desert,” while Bethabara means “house of the crossing” or “ford.” There are no solutions for the location of any Bethabara, but Beth-araba may be the modern ’Ain-el-Gharabeh in the Wadi Qelt.