Like Bethany, Bethphage was a small village east of Jerusalem. It’s name (“House of the unripe figs”) hints to its agricultural role, yet in Christianity, Bethphage is famous for a different reason. According to the Gospels, upon reaching Jerusalem, at Bathphage Jesus sent his disciples to find a donkey, on which he would enter the city. After finding one, Jesus rode the donkey in a triumphal procession, with the crowds waving palm fronds at him. To this day, an annual Palm Sunday procession is conducted from Bethphage. Carrying Palm fronds, the crowd walks in prayers and hymns from Bethphage to Jerusalem.
In 2010, my Friend, Ron Peled and I, filmed at the site –
Touring Bethpage