Bethany (given name) Bethany (given name) Bethany ( ("Bethania"), in Greek, which is probably of Aramaic or Hebrew origin, meaning "house of affliction" or "house of figs") is a feminine given name derived from the Biblical place name, Bethany, a town near Jerusalem, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where Lazarus lived in the New Testament, along with his sisters, Mary and Martha, and where Jesus stayed during Holy Week before his crucifixion. The name has been well-used in English-speaking countries. It was the 59th most popular name for girls in England and Wales in 2010, having ranked as high as
Behold the Man (novel) way to Nazareth in search of Jesus. When he finds Mary and Joseph, Mary turns out to be little more than a whore, and Joseph, a bitter old man, sneers openly at her claim to have been impregnated by an angel. Worse, their child Jesus is a profoundly intellectually disabled hunchback who incessantly repeats the only word he knows: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." Karl, however, is so deeply committed to the idea of a real, historical Jesus that, at this point, he himself begins to step into the role, gathering followers, repeating what parables he can recall, and using psychological tricks