Traditional Site
Tomb of Lazarus
TOOM of LAZ-uh-rus · Modern Al-Eizariya, West Bank · 31.7717° N, 35.2559° E
A rock-cut tomb in Al-Eizariya (whose Arabic name derives from "Lazarus"), on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, venerated since at least the 4th century as the tomb of Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus raised from the dead four days after his burial (John 11:1-44). The site has been a Christian pilgrimage destination continuously since antiquity, described by the pilgrim Egeria around AD 410.
Archaeology
A church (the "Lazarium") is attested at this location by Jerome in AD 390, and the burial chamber's original vestibule-and-chamber form is consistent with typical Second Temple-period Jewish rock-cut tombs. Because the site has been continuously built over — a Byzantine church, then Crusader-era rebuilding, then the 16th-century Ottoman al-Uzair Mosque, and a modern Franciscan-cut entrance from the 1560s-70s — the tomb's original first-century context has been substantially altered, and its identification as Lazarus's specific tomb rests on a very early but still traditional chain of pilgrim testimony rather than an inscription or artifact.
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
At Lazarus's tomb, Jesus wept even knowing what he was about to do — do you let yourself grieve, even when you have hope?
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