Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was stated at the close of the former chapter that our Lord, eluding the fury of His Pharisaic adversaries in Jerusalem, "went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there abode" (John 10:39-40). The place was probably somewhere about the well-known fords of the Jordan, and not far from Jericho, which was about eighteen miles distant from Jerusalem. Here we now find Him when intelligence reached Him regarding Lazarus.
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of [or, 'from' apo (G575 )] Bethany (see the note at Luke 19:29), 'of х ek (G1537)]
The town of Mary and her sister Martha - thus distinguishing this Bethany from the one "beyond Jordan" above referred to.