Bethlehem

D12 on the Map.

Bethlehem in Smiths Bible Dictionary (house of bread). 1. One of the oldest towns in Israel, already in existence at the time of Jacob's return to the country. Its earliest name was EPHRATH or EPHRATAH. See Ge 35:16,19; 48:7 After the conquest Bethlehem appears under its own name, BETHLEHEM-JUDAH. Jud 17:7; 1Sa 17:12; Ru 1:1,2 The book of Ruth is a page from the domestic history of Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, Ru 1:19 and of David. 1Sa 17:12 It was fortified by Rehoboam. 2Ch 11:6 It was here that our Lord was born, Mt 2:1 and here that he was visited by the shepherds, Lu 2:15-17 and the Magi. Matt 2. The modern town of Beit-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. 2. A town in the portion of Zebulun, named nowhere but in Jos 19:15 Now known as Beit-lahm.
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Beit Lahm. Bethlehem "house of bread" is a town in Palestine, near which Jacob buried Rachel, then known as Ephrath (Gen 35:19; 48:7). It is also called Bethlehem Ephrathah (Mic 5:2), Bethlehem in Judah (1 Sam 17:12), Bethlehem of Judea (Matt 2:1), and the city of David (Luke 2:4; cf. John 7:42). The old name, Ephrath, or Ephrathah, remained long after Israel occupied Palestine (Ruth 1:2; 4:11; 1 Sam 17:12; Ps 132:6; Mic 5:2; etc.). The city overlooks the main highway to Hebron and Egypt. The site of the city is on a large limestone ridge of the Judean highland and has never been disputed.

After the conquest Bethlehem fell to Judah (Judg 17:7; 1 Sam 17:12; Ruth 1:1-2); Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after Jephthah (Judg 12:8); Elimelech, the husband of Naomi and father-in-law of Ruth, was a Bethlehemite (Ruth 1:1-2), as was Boaz (2:1,4). David was born in Bethlehem, and here he was anointed as future king by Samuel (1 Sam 16:1); here was the well from which David's three heroes brought him water (2 Sam 23:15-16), thought to be the same three wells still existing in the N side of the village; it was the birthplace of the Messiah (Matt 2:1), and its male children were slain by order of Herod (2:16, cf. Jer 31:15; Mic 5:2).

This Bethlehem is about five miles S of Jerusalem, and elevated 2,460 feet above sea level.

In Bethlehem stands the Basilica of the Nativity, marking the traditional site of the birth of Christ.

Gen. 35:19; Matt. 2:18); Judg. 17:7; Ruth 1:1; I Sam. 17:2; 2 Sam. 23:15; Mic. 5:2; Ezr. 2:21; Neh. 7:26; Matt. 2:l ff; Luke 2:4; John 7:42.

Bethlehem in Bible Cities
More about Ancient Bethlehem

Israel in the First Century

More About Ancient Bethlehem

Bethlehem Scriptures

Luke 2:4 - And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 

Ruth 4:11 - And all the people that [were] in the gate, and the elders, said, [We are] witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: 

1 Chronicles 4:4 - And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These [are] the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father ofBethlehem. 

Matthew 2:16 - Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 

1 Chronicles 2:51 - Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Bethgader. 

1 Chronicles 11:18 - And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that [was] by the gate, and took [it], and brought [it] to David: but David would not drink [of] it, but poured it out to the LORD, 

Ruth 1:22 - So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came toBethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. 

Micah 5:2 - But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting. 

Matthew 2:6 - And thou Bethlehem, [in] the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 

Luke 2:15 - And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even untoBethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 

Genesis 48:7 - And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet [there was] but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same [is] Bethlehem. 

Ruth 2:4 - And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD [be] with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. 

John 7:42 - Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? 

2 Samuel 23:16 - And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that [was] by the gate, and took [it], and brought [it] to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD. 

1 Samuel 16:4 - And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 

1 Samuel 20:6 - If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked [leave] of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for [there is] a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 

Matthew 2:1 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 

1 Chronicles 2:54 - The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites. 

2 Samuel 2:32 - And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which [was in] Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day. 

Matthew 2:8 - And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found [him], bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 

Joshua 19:15 - And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. 

1 Samuel 20:28 - And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked [leave] of me [to go] to Bethlehem: 

1 Chronicles 11:26 - Also the valiant men of the armies [were], Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 

1 Samuel 17:15 - But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 

2 Samuel 23:15 - And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which [is] by the gate! 

2 Samuel 23:24 - Asahel the brother of Joab [was] one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 

1 Chronicles 11:17 - And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that [is] at the gate! 

Jeremiah 41:17 - And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt, 

Genesis 35:19 - And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which [is] Bethlehem. 

2 Samuel 23:14 - And David [was] then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines [was] then [in] Bethlehem.