Topical Encyclopedia
Etymology and Location:Bethlehem, meaning "House of Bread" in Hebrew, is a town located about six miles south of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. It is historically significant and frequently mentioned in the Bible.
Biblical Significance:Bethlehem holds a prominent place in biblical history and prophecy. It is first mentioned in
Genesis 35:19 as the burial place of Rachel, Jacob's wife. The town is also the setting for the Book of Ruth, where Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz, leading to her marriage and becoming the great-grandmother of King David.
Davidic Connection:Bethlehem is famously known as the "City of David" because it is the birthplace and early home of King David. In
1 Samuel 16:1, the prophet Samuel is sent by God to Bethlehem to anoint David as the future king of Israel. This connection to David is significant in the messianic prophecies concerning Jesus Christ.
Prophetic Fulfillment:The prophet Micah foretold the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (
Micah 5:2). This prophecy is fulfilled in the New Testament with the birth of Jesus Christ.
Birthplace of Jesus Christ:Bethlehem is most renowned as the birthplace of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem seeking the newborn King of the Jews, and Herod's scribes identified Bethlehem as the prophesied location (
Matthew 2:1-6). The Gospel of Luke provides a detailed account of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, noting that Joseph and Mary traveled there due to a Roman census (
Luke 2:1-7).
Historical and Theological Importance:Bethlehem's role as the birthplace of Jesus underscores its theological importance in Christianity. It symbolizes the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and the humble beginnings of the Savior. The town's association with bread, as implied by its name, also resonates with Jesus' later identification as the "Bread of Life" (
John 6:35).
Modern-Day Bethlehem:Today, Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, with a significant Christian population and numerous sites of religious pilgrimage, including the Church of the Nativity, which is traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. The city's rich biblical heritage continues to draw visitors and scholars interested in its historical and spiritual significance.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Bethlehem(house of bread).
- One of the oldest towns in Palestine, already in existence at the time of Jacob's return to the country. Its earliest name wasEPHRATAH, OR EPHRATH or EPHRATAH. See (Genesis 35:16,19;48:7) After the conquest Bethlehem appears under its own name, BETHLEHEM-JUDAH. (Judges 17:7;1 Samuel 17:12;Ruth 1:1,2) The book of Ruth is a page from the domestic history of Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, (Ruth 1:19) and of David. (1 Samuel 17:12) It was fortified by Rehoboam. (2 Chronicles 11:6) It was here that our Lord was born, (Matthew 2:1) and here that he was visited by the shepherds, (Luke 2:15-17) and the Magi. Matt 2. The modern town ofBeit-lahm lies to the east of the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, six miles from the former. It covers the east and northeast parts of the ridge of a long gray hill of Jura limestone, which stands nearly due east and west, and is about a mile in length. The hill has a deep valley on the north and another on the south. On the top lies the village in a kind of irregular triangle. The population is about 3000 souls, entirely Christians. The Church of the Nativity, built by the empress Helena A.D. 330, is the oldest Christian church in existence. It is built over the grotto where Christ is supposed to have been born.
- A town in the portion of Zebulun, named nowhere but in (Joshua 19:15) Now known asBeit-lahm .
ATS Bible Dictionary
BethlehemHouse of bread,
1. A celebrated city, the birthplace of David and of Christ. It was in the tribe of Judah, six miles south by west of Jerusalem, and probably received its appellation from the fertility of the circumjacent country. This also gave it its ancient name Ephrath, fruitful,Genesis 48:7Micah 5:2. It was beautifully situated on an oblong ridge, twenty-seven hundred feet above the level of the sea, and affording a fine view in every direction. The hills around it were terraced, and clothed with vines, fig trees, and almonds; and the valleys around it bore rich crops of grain. It was fortified by Rehoboam,2 Chronicles 11:6, but was comparatively an unimportant place,Micah 5:1, and is not mentioned by Joshua or Nehemiah among the cities of Judah. Its memory is delightfully associated with the names of Boaz and Ruth; it is celebrated as the birthplace and city of David,1 Samuel 17:12,15 20:62 Samuel 23:14-17 but above all, it is hallowed as the place where the Redeemer was born. Over that lovely spot the guiding star hovered; there the eastern sages worshipped the King of kings, and there where David watched his flock and praised God, were heard the songs of the angelic host at the Savior's birth,Luke 2:8. Bethlehem is now called Beit-lahm, and contains about three thousand inhabitants, almost exclusively nominal Christians. Half a mile north is the spot pointed out by traditional as Rachel's tomb,Genesis 35:16-20; and about two miles south-west are the great reservoirs described under Solomon's Pools.
2. An unknown place in Zebulun,Joshua 19:15 Jud 12:10, in distinction from which the city of David was often called Bethlehem-Judah.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
House of bread.
(1.) A city in the "hill country" of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath (Genesis 35:16, 19;48:7;Ruth 4:11). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1 Samuel 17:12), and "the city of David" (Luke 2:4). It is first noticed in Scripture as the place where Rachel died and was buried "by the wayside," directly to the north of the city (Genesis 48:7). The valley to the east was the scene of the story of Ruth the Moabitess. There are the fields in which she gleaned, and the path by which she and Naomi returned to the town. Here was David's birth-place, and here also, in after years, he was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:4-13); and it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in the cave of Adullam (2 Samuel 23:13-17). But it was distinguished above every other city as the birth-place of "Him whose goings forth have been of old" (Matthew 2:6; Comp.Micah 5:2). Afterwards Herod, "when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men," sent and slew "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under" (Matthew 2:16, 18;Jeremiah 31:15).
Bethlehem bears the modern name of Beit-Lahm, i.e., "house of flesh." It is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem, standing at an elevation of about 2,550 feet above the sea, thus 100 feet higher than Jerusalem.
There is a church still existing, built by Constantine the Great (A.D. 330), called the "Church of the Nativity," over a grotto or cave called the "holy crypt," and said to be the "stable" in which Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest existing Christian church in the world. Close to it is another grotto, where Jerome the Latin father is said to have spent thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures into Latin. (seeVERSION.)
(2.) A city of Zebulun, mentioned only inJoshua 19:15. Now Beit-Lahm, a ruined village about 6 miles west-north-west of Nazareth.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam.
2. (n.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the Eucharist is made.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BETHLEHEMbeth'-le-hem (bethlechem; Baithleem, or Bethleem, "house of David," or possibly "the house of Lakhmu," an Assyrian deity):
I. Bethlehem Judah:
Bethlehem Judah, or EPHRATH or EPHRATHAH (which see) is now Beit Lahm (Arabic = "house of meat"), a town of upward of 10,000 inhabitants, 5 miles South of Jerusalem and 2,350 ft. above sea level. It occupies an outstanding position upon a spur running East from the watershed with deep valleys to the Northeast and South It is just off the main road to Hebron and the south, but upon the highroad to Tekoa and En-gedi. The position is one of natural strength; it was occupied by a garrison of the Philistines in the days of David (2 Samuel 23:141 Chronicles 11:16) and was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:6). The surrounding country is fertile, cornfields, fig and olive yards and vineyards abound. Bethlehem is not naturally well supplied with water, the nearest spring is 800 yds. to the Southeast, but for many centuries the "low level aqueduct" from "Solomon's Pools" in the ArTas valley, which has here been tunneled through the hill, has been tapped by the inhabitants; there are also many rock-cut cisterns.
1. Early History:
In1 Chronicles 2:51 Salma, the son of Caleb, is described as the "father of Bethlehem." InGenesis 35:19;Genesis 48:7 it is recorded that Rachel "was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem)." Tradition points out the site of Rachel's tomb near where the road to Bethlehem leaves the main road. The Levites of the events ofJudges 17Judges 19 were Bethlehemites. In the list of the towns of Judah the name Bethlehem occurs, in the Septuagint version only inJoshua 15:57.
2. David the Bethlehemite:
Ruth, famous chiefly as the ancestress of David, and of the Messiah, settled in Bethlehem with her second husband Boaz, and it is noticeable that from her new home she could view the mountains of Moab, her native land. David himself "was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse" (1 Samuel 17:12). To Bethlehem came Samuel to anoint a successor to unworthy Saul (1 Samuel 16:4): "David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem" (1 Samuel 17:15). David's "three mighty men" "brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David" (2 Samuel 23:14, 16). Tradition still points out the well. From this town came those famous "sons of Zeruiah," David's nephews, whose loyalty and whose ruthless cruelty became at once a protection and a menace to their royal relative: in2 Samuel 2:32 it is mentioned that one of them, Asahel, was buried "in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem."
3. Later Bible History:
After the time of David, Bethlehem would appear to have sunk into insignificance. But its future fame is pointed at by Micah (Micah 5:2): "But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."
In the return of the Jews captive Bethlehemites re-inhabited the place (Ezra 2:21Nehemiah 7:26 "men"; 1 Esdras 5:17 "sons").
4. The Christian Era:
In the New Testament Bethlehem is mentioned as the birthplace of the Messiah Jesus (Matthew 2:1, 5Luke 2:4, 25) in consequence of which event occurred Herod's "massacre of the innocents" (Matthew 2:8, 16). Inasmuch as Hadrian devastated Bethlehem and set up there a sacred grove to Adonis (Jerome, Ep. ad Paul, lviii.3) it is clear that veneration of this spot as the site of the Nativity must go back before 132 A.D. Constantine (circa 330) founded a basilica over the cave-stable which tradition pointed out as the scene of the birth, and his church, unchanged in general structure though enlarged by Justinian and frequently adorned, repaired and damaged, remains today the chief attraction of the town. During the Crusades, Bethlehem became of great importance and prosperity; it remained in Christian hands after the overthrow of the Latin kingdom, and at the present day it is in material things one of the most prosperous Christian centers in the Holy Land.
II. Bethlehem of Zebulun:
Bethlehem of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15) was probably the home of Ibzan (Judges 12:8) though Jewish tradition is in support of (1). See Josephus, Ant, V, vii, 13. This is now the small village of Beit Lahm, some 7 miles Northwest of Nazareth on the edge of the oak forest. Some antiquities have been found here recently, showing that in earlier days it was a place of some importance. It is now the site of a small German colony. SeePEF, I, 270, Sh V.
E. W. G. Masterman
BETHLEHEM, STAR OF
SeeSTAR OF THE MAGI.
STAR OF BETHLEHEM
SeeSTAR OF THE MAGI.
Greek
965. Bethleem -- "house of bread,"Bethlehem, a city near Jer.... Bethleem. 966 . "house of bread,"
Bethlehem, a city near Jer.
... Word Origin of Hebrew
origin Beth Definition "house of bread,"
Bethlehem, a city near Jer.
...Strong's Hebrew
4029. Migdal-eder -- "flock tower," a tower nearBethlehem... Migdal-eder. 4030 . "flock tower," a tower near
Bethlehem. Transliteration:
Migdal-eder Phonetic Spelling: (mig-dal'-ay'-der) Short Definition: Eder.
...8007. Salma -- father of Boaz, also the founder ofBethlehem
... 8006, 8007. Salma. 8008 . father of Boaz, also the founder ofBethlehem.
Transliteration: Salma Phonetic Spelling: (sal-maw') Short Definition: Salma....
1628. Geruth -- "lodging place," a place nearBethlehem
... 1627, 1628. Geruth. 1629 . "lodging place," a place nearBethlehem.
Transliteration: Geruth Phonetic Spelling: (gay-rooth') Short Definition: Geruth....
3643. Kimham -- an attendant of David, also a place nearBethlehem
... Kimham. 3644 . an attendant of David, also a place nearBethlehem. Transliteration:
Kimham Phonetic Spelling: (kim-hawm') Short Definition: Chimham....
1022. Beth Hallachmi -- an inhabitant ofBethlehem
... Beth Hallachmi. 1023 . an inhabitant ofBethlehem. Transliteration: Beth Hallachmi
Phonetic Spelling: (bayth hal-lakh-mee') Short Definition: Bethlehemite....
1035. Beth Lechem -- "place of bread," a city in Judah, also a...
... "place of bread," a city in Judah, also a city in Zebulun. Transliteration: Beth
Lechem Phonetic Spelling: (bayth leh'-khem) Short Definition:Bethlehem....
672. Ephrath -- an Israelite woman, also the name of several...
... 5). Ephrath, Ephratah. Or mephrathah {ef-raw'-thaw}; from parah; fruitfulness;
Ephrath, another name forBethlehem; once (Psa. 132...
3433. Yashubi Lechem -- "returner of bread," a man of Judah
... (Prob. The text should be pointed Yoshbev Lechem {yo-sheh-bay' leh'-khem}, and rendered
"(they were) inhabitants of Lechem," ie OfBethlehem (by contraction)....
Library
Was Christ Born inBethlehem?
Was Christ Born inBethlehem? . Was Christ Born inBethlehem? Sir William
Mitchell Ramsay. Table of Contents. Title Page. PREFACE....
Bethlehem and Calvary.
...BETHLEHEM AND CALVARY. Er ist inBethlehem geboren [364]Friedrich R?�ckert. trans.
by Catherine Winkworth, 1869. InBethlehem the Lord was born....
Bethlehem Rejoices,
...Bethlehem rejoices,. tr., John Brownlie 6,5,6,5 D. Doxa en hupsistois theo. By St.
John of Damascus, 780 AD. I.Bethlehem rejoices,. Hark the voices clear,....
TheBethlehem Fog.
... The Tragic Break in the Plan TheBethlehem Fog. Then it was that Jesus came.... The
first attempt was atBethlehem. The venomous spittle oozed out there first....
AtBethlehem
... The Treasury of Sacred Song. Book First CXXXIX ATBETHLEHEM. R. Crashaw. Come, we
shepherds, whose blest sight. Hath met Love's noon in Nature's night;...
The Story of Jesus, the Babe ofBethlehem
... THE STORY OF JESUS, THE BABE OFBETHLEHEM. Soon after the time when John the
Baptist was born, Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth had a dream....
Joy Born atBethlehem
... Joy Born atBethlehem. A Sermon (No.1026). Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, December
24th, 1871, by. CH SPURGEON,.... the Star ofBethlehem shall never set....
A visit toBethlehem in Spirit.
... ORIGINAL HYMNS HYMN LII. A Visit toBethlehem in Spirit. 8.7.8.7.8.8.7 James Montgomery.
A Visit toBethlehem in Spirit. The scene arround me disappears,....
Jesus is Born inBethlehem
... CHAPTER II JESUS IS BORN INBETHLEHEM.... Now, both Joseph and Mary belonged to
the family of the great king David, who was born inBethlehem....
Book ii from the Manger inBethlehem to the Baptism in Jordan.
... Book II FROM THE MANGER INBETHLEHEM TO THE BAPTISM IN JORDAN. . Fortitudo
infirmatur,. Parva fit immensitas; Liberator alligatur,....
Thesaurus
Bethlehem-judah (3 Occurrences)Bethlehem-judah. Bethlehemjudah,
Bethlehem-judah. Beth-lehem-judah .
Multi-Version Concordance
Bethlehem-judah (3 Occurrences).
...Bethlehem (49 Occurrences)
... was David's birth-place, and here also, in after years, he was anointed as king
by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:4-13); and it was from the well ofBethlehem that three...
Ephrath (9 Occurrences)
... of Septuagint only); Ruth 4:11 1 Chronicles 2:19, 24, 50; Psalm 132:6 Micah 5:2,
the King James Version "Ephratah"): The name either ofBethlehem itself or of...
Ephratah (5 Occurrences)
... (2.) The ancient name ofBethlehem in Judah (Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7). In Ruth
1:2 it is called "Bethlehem-Judah," but the inhabitants are called "Ephrathites...
Ephrathah (6 Occurrences)
... of Septuagint only); Ruth 4:11 1 Chronicles 2:19, 24, 50; Psalm 132:6 Micah 5:2,
the King James Version "Ephratah"): The name either ofBethlehem itself or of...
Etam (5 Occurrences)
... 8, 11). It was a natural stronghold. It has been identified with Beit 'Atab,
west ofBethlehem, near Zorah and Eshtaol. On the crest...
Naomi (25 Occurrences)
... of Elimelech, and mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth (1:2,
20, 21; 2:1). Elimelech and his wife left the district ofBethlehem-Judah, and...
Netophah (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Distillation; dropping, a town in Judah, in the neighbourhood,
probably, ofBethlehem (Nehemiah 7:26; 1 Chronicles 2:54)....
Adullam (10 Occurrences)
... The Cave of Adullam has been discovered about 2 miles south of the scene
of David's triumph, and about 13 miles west fromBethlehem....
Tekoa (12 Occurrences)
... It is now the village of Teku'a, on the top of a hill among ruins, 5 miles south
ofBethlehem, and close to Beth-haccerem ("Herod's mountain"). Int....
Resources
What was the star of Bethlehem? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the Massacre of the Innocents? | GotQuestions.orgWhere was Jesus born? | GotQuestions.orgBethlehem: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
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