Albert Barnes Commentary John 1:28

"These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing." — John 1:28 (ASV)

In Bethabara—Almost all the ancient manuscripts and versions, instead of “Bethabara” here, have “Bethany,” and this is doubtless the true reading. There was a Bethany about 2 miles east of Jerusalem, but there is also said to have been another in the tribe of Reuben, on the east side of the river Jordan; in this place, probably, John was baptizing. It is about 12 miles above Jericho.

The word “Bethabara” means “house or place of a ford.” The reading “Bethabara,” instead of “Bethany,” seems to have arisen from the conjecture of Origen, who found in his day no such place as “Bethany,” but saw a town called “Bethabara” where John was said to have baptized, and therefore took the liberty of changing the former reading (Robinson, Lexicon).

Beyond Jordan—On the east side of the Jordan River.