BETHABARA / BETHEBARA
Biblical place-name, Place beyond
the Jordan River whereat LEHI prophesies that a prophet would baptize the
coming MESSIAH with water (1 Nephi 10:9 || KJV John 1:28 || JST John 1:34). O
& P mss read Bethebara; but 1830 Bethabara, which Skousen
prefers.
Scholars agree that בית עברה
BETHABARA means “House of the Ford, Place of Crossing Over” in Hebrew (2 Samuel
19:19; cf. Judges 7:24), of which Greek Βηθαβαρᾷ “Bethabara” is the standard
transliteration, and which is used at John 1:28 by the KJV. However, at John
1:28, most early Greek manuscripts read Βηθανίᾳ “Bethany” (preferred by RSV). Even
though they were aware of this strong manuscript evidence for “Bethany,” the
early Church Fathers, Origen and John Chrysostom, preferred the minority
reading BETHABARA primarily because they knew of no Bethany “Poor-House” near
the Jordan River. Moreover, Origen liked the etymology of BETHABARA because it
was more edifying. However, aside from BETHABARA being attested at John 1:28 in
Greek uncial codices New York and Moscow (K & T), corrected forms of
Ephraemi and Athos (C & Ψ), along with uncial fragments from St
Petersburg and Paris (083, 0141), minuscule 1, and family 13, backed up by
Eusebius and Cyril, and some Byzantine texts and lectionaries, as well as the
Old Curetonian Syriac, some Sahidic Coptic, Aramaic of the Peshitta (בתברא ),
Armenian, and Georgian manuscripts. The place itself is attested in both the 5th
century AD Madeba Map and in the Jewish Talmud. Thus, the Book of Mormon
provides strong evidence for the reading preferred by the early Church Fathers.
Moreover, the earliest Book of Mormon spelling, BETHEBARA, is attested at John
1:28 in manuscripts 13 and 828 as Βηθεβαρᾷ, and may therefore reflect the best
reading at 1 Nephi 10:9 and John 1:28. (Robert F. Smith, The Ethnological
Foundations of the Book of Mormon, 3 vols. [Provo, Utah: Deep Forest Green
Books, 2025], 3:70-71)
