Bethphage
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(place of figs) (Matt. 21:1) — a small settlement on the southwest side of the Mount of Olives, adjoining Bethany on the west. Here the ass and the colt were brought to the Savior (Matt. 21:1–9), and from here began His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (John 12:12–18). The environs of Bethphage were in antiquity famed for an abundance of fig trees, whose fruits, it is said, ripened earlier than others; owing to which, in all likelihood, this settlement received its name. At present no trace remains of Gospel-era Bethphage.