Garden near Jerusalem; site of Jesus' prayer and arrest
Gethsemane
Named in 2 verses across 2 books, first in Matthew 26:36.
ΓεθσημανῆGethsemane
The name means “a very fat or plentiful vale.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869
About Gethsemane Written by AI
Gethsemane is the name of a garden located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem. It is mentioned in the New Testament Gospels as the place where Jesus went to pray and was later arrested before his crucifixion. The name "Gethsemane" is derived from the Aramaic words "gat shemanim," meaning "oil press," suggesting that the garden may have contained an olive press or was located in an area known for olive oil production. According to Matthew 26:36 and Mrk.14.32, after the Last Supper, Jesus went with his disciples to Gethsemane. He took Peter, James, and John with him and asked them to stay awake and pray while he went further into the garden to pray alone. In his agony, Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). During his prayer, Jesus was deeply distressed and sorrowful, to the point of sweating drops of blood (Luke 22:44). This intense emotional and spiritual struggle underscores the significance of Gethsemane as the place where Jesus fully embraced his impending suffering and death. After his prayer, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and arrested.
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
Oil-press, the name of an olive-yard at the foot of the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus was wont to retire (Luke 22:39) with his disciples, and which is specially memorable as being the scene of his agony (Mark 14:32; John 18:1; Luke 22:44). The plot of ground pointed out as Gethsemane is now surrounded by a wall, and is laid out as a modern European flower-garden. It contains eight venerable olive-trees, the age of which cannot, however, be determined. The exact site of Gethsemane is still in question. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book) says: “When I first came to Jerusalem, and for many years afterward, this plot of ground was open to all whenever they chose to come and meditate beneath its very old olivetrees. The Latins, however, have within the last few years succeeded in gaining sole possession, and have built a high wall around it...The Greeks have invented another site a little to the north of it...My own impression is that both are wrong. The position is too near the city, and so close to what must have always been the great thoroughfare eastward, that our Lord would scarcely have selected it for retirement on that dangerous and dismal night...I am inclined to place the garden in the secluded vale several hundred yards to the north-east of the present Gethsemane.”
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
31.777, 35.235 See it on a map
Where the Bible names it
- Matthew 26:36
Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
- Mark 14:32
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.