Bethabara

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Al-Maghtas
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River are the location for the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.
Location	Balqa Governorate, Jordan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, vi
Reference	1446
UNESCO region	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	2015 (39th Session)

Bethabara (/bɛθˈæbərə/ beth-AB-ər-ə; בית עברה; bēth‛ăbhārāh; Βηθαβαρά; Bēthabará; "house of the ford, place of crossing") is the name used by some versions of the New Testament for the site "beyond (i.e. east of) the Jordan" where John the Baptist preached and performed baptisms, where he met with a group of priests and Levites sent by the Pharisees to investigate his ministry, and where he baptised Jesus. The name "Bethabara" also appears on the 6th-century Madaba Map and in the Talmud.

The most likely location of Bethabara is Al-Maghtas in Jordan.

Traditions based on interpretations of the scriptural texts connect the site with two other miracles: the crossing of the River Jordan, whose waters were divinely restrained, by the Israelites under the command of Joshua (Joshua 3); and Prophet Elijah being taken to heaven by chariots of fire (2 Kings 2:9, 11). Bethabara is also mentioned as the location of Jesus' baptism in The Book of Mormon, as foretold by the first prophet in the Book of Mormon, Lehi, approximately 600 years before Jesus' birth.