Bethlehem
The West Bank of Bethlehem, also known by the Arabic names Bayt Lam (“House of Meat”) and Bet Leem, is located in the Judaean Hills five miles (eight kilometers) south of Jerusalem (“House of Bread”). According to Luke and Mathew’s gospels, Jesus was instinctive in Bethlehem, which relates to the idea that, according to Christian theology, his birthplace there co-ordinated the “Old Testament” prediction of Israel’s prospective monarch rising from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) (Bethlehem, n.d.). Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where the current Church of the Nativity is located. According to tradition, the actual birthplace is a cave, on top of which the first church was built. The Nativity is situated at one of the holiest locations in all of Christendom and represents the beginning of Christianity. St. Helena, the first basilica church, was constructed in 339 AD and remains partially visible below ground. Its eastern, octagonal end was intended to enclose the cave and provide a view of it. Over this church lies the modern Church of the Nativity, which was essentially constructed in the middle of the sixth century AD (Justinian) but has since undergone restorations. It is the oldest church that is still in operation.
Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem
Some contemporary New Testament academics think that some of the bible stories were later accompaniments, and Jesus was conceived in Nazareth, where he spent his formative years; most Christians have revered Bethlehem as the location where Jesus was born for almost two millennia (Bethlehem, n.d.). The West Bank’s name is frequently transcribed in the Bible as Bethlehem Ephrathah or Bethlehem-Judah. It appears unlikely that an ancient village is mentioned in the diplomatic Amarna Letters, which date to the 14th century BCE. They were discovered in Tell el-Amarna in Egypt.
Establishment of Bethlehem
The Bible refers to Bethlehem for the first time about Rachel, who perished nearby on a highway (Genesis 35:19). After Israel and Judah became independent states, Rehoboam, the first king of Judah and David’s grandson, fortified the town (II Chronicles 11). Later, when Bar Kokhba was leading the Second Jewish Revolt, a Roman garrison was stationed there. During the Babylonian Exile (516 BCE and later), the Jews returned to Palestine and established the town (135 CE) (Bethlehem, n.d.).
Christian Churches in Bethlehem
The Cathedral of the Nativity is consequently one of the oldest Christian churches. Outside interests frequently spark disputes about whose religions rule the holy site (1854–56) (Bethlehem, n.d.). Later, the Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox religions broke away from the church. The town has a long history of being a monastic hub; St. Jerome founded a monastery there in the fifth century CE and collaborated with Palestinian Jews to convert the Old Testament from its native Hebrew into Roman.
Readers can find this translation in the Vulgate, the standard Latin translation of the Scripture used by the Roman Catholic Church, and the Hebrew Bible, which he had transcribed from Greek before traveling to Palestine. Since the early Medieval Period, the church has been integrating into a network of other religious organizations, particularly monastic ones. It is today a part of an incredible architectural ensemble that the Greek Orthodox Church controls, the Custody of the Holy Land, and the Armenian Church by the provisions for the Status Quo of the Holy Places outlined by the Treaty of Berlin (1878).
Bethlehem’s Significance
Bethlehem has often held a particular position in the heritage of the Jewish people, even though Israelis nowadays do not have easy access to the town proper. Israel’s connection to Bethlehem is more profound than most people know currently. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was laid to rest in Bethlehem. After this, God lifted magistrates. Boaz, a native of Bethlehem, accepted Ruth into his Jewish family. David, the greatest king of Israel, tended sheep on the country’s farms.
Bethlehem’s Origin
Bethlehem, formerly known as Ephrath, stands in Judah. Bethlehem is called the city of David, Bethlehem Ephratah, and Bethlehem-Judah. North of the city, Bethlehem is first mentioned in the Bible as the location of Rachel’s demise (Isaac and Platenkamp 110).
Fortification of Bethlehem
After Israel and Judah became independent states, Rehoboam, the first king of Judah and David’s grandson, fortified the town. As the origin of Jesus Christ, Bethlehem stands out among all other places. Herod ordered out and killed all the children in Bethlehem and all of its borders, from two years old and under, after realizing that the wise men had made fun of him.
Israel’s Occupation in Bethlehem
Support among Palestinian residents for resistance acts during the first ten years of Israeli occupation and nonviolent civil resistance to Israeli rule is comparatively low. When Israel started building settlements more intensively in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this period of relative peace started to get shorter. There were dozens of them in the villages by the beginning of the 1980s. Various Palestinians had long since left the fighting scenes in 1948 and 1967, and their homes, businesses, and other buildings had been looted. Israeli colonies tripled in number while the number of settlers more than multiplied by five under Menachem Begin’s presidency (1979–1983). Israeli claims that government has the right to control property in the West Bank that is not being farmed or owned by a private party (a category that, depending on the definitions chosen, may include between 30% and 70% of the West Bank) eventually led to fears that Israel intended to annex the area progressively.
Control Over Palestinians
There was persistent disagreement on Israel’s assertion of control over Palestinians residing in the West Bank throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Israel believed that sustaining its security depended on maintaining control over the West Bank, and the expansion of Israeli settlements only fueled its opposition to handing over the territory. The PLO, the central political body for Palestinians in the West Bank, did not do so until years later. At the same time, Israel refused to negotiate with it and recognize its legality.
The Roman Eras
Amid Bar Kokhba’s uprising, known as the Second Jewish Revolt, which occurred between 132-135 CE and destroyed the city, the Romans erected a statue of Adonis stands where the Nativity had stood. The first Christian church was finally built in Bethlehem when Helena, the first Christian ruler Constantine’s mother, visited there in 326 (Severn 323). The Samaritan insurrection in 529 devastated the Church of the Nativity and the walls of Bethlehem, but on Justinian’s instructions, the habitats rebuilt the walls. Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity have been and remain a well-liked pilgrimage destination for the past 1700 years.
The eastern end of the pilgrimage path, a historic route from Jerusalem to the church, designates the street that attaches Bethlehem’s traditional entry, next to King David’s Shafts, with the Church of the Nativity. It finally goes to Manger Square after continuing along Star Street and passing through the town’s famous Damascus Gate, also known as Qos Al-Zarara. Three church patriarchs ceremonially traveled the Route during Christmas celebrations and official travels to Bethlehem. The Pilgrimage Way in the Chapel of the Annunciation in Bethlehem gets its extraordinary international value from its connection to the great religion’s birthplace. And for the way, the church of the Nativity’s organization and affiliations highlight Christianity’s enormous impact on politics and spirituality over 1500 years.
The Star of Bethlehem
A celestial phenomenon called the Bethlehem Star is credited with directing “wise men from the East” to the Nativity of Jesus Christ. =According to the biblical story, the wise men saw the star twice, once just before they left for their trip (possibly from Babylonia or Persia) and once near the end when it “came and stood over where the small newborn was.” Any viewer may erroneously think that an object pointed toward their horizon in the sky is underneath the Earth.
The Star of Bethlehem in the Bible
The star of Bethlehem denotes a period when the Wise Men from the East visited Ruler Herod in Jerusalem. They were inquiring about the location of the infant king of the Jews. The star of Bethlehem first emerges in Matthew 2:2. The wise men spoke with a perplexed Herod, who was unaware of this monarch, before setting out again. According to Matthew 2:9–10, following the king’s speech, they continued on their journey, and the light they saw and as it rose pulled fast of them as it halted over the location of Jesus. They were ecstatic when they spotted the star.
The Significance of Bethlehem in the Bible
The significance of Bethlehem in the Bible is mostly a result of its connection to Jesus. The Messiah of Israel would be born in Bethlehem, according to Micah’s prophecy: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you be not great among the tribes of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be king over Jerusalem, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
The Birth of Jesus
Jesus was conceived in the small town of Bethlehem, according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke (Matthew 2:1–12; Luke 2:4–20). The City of David is yet another name for Bethlehem. David lived in the city with his family after being crowned king (1 Samuel 16:1; 17:12). (1 Samuel 16:4–13). Additionally, Bethlehem of Judah and Bethlehem Ephrath shared the same name (Genesis 35:19). Joshua (19:15).
The Meaning of Bethlehem
Bethlehem presumably implies a broader context of “food” because Bethlehem, meaning “House of Bread,” is situated close to a large field in the Judean desert. There are farms, vineyards, and lush orchards all across the city. Since its founding, the city has welcomed various cultures and peoples. It is situated on a rocky outcrop not far from the main road leading to Hebron and Egypt. Genesis 35:19 and Genesis 48:7 refer to the Canaanite city of Bethlehem as the one closest to where Rachel died and was suppressed. There lived and served Micah in Ephraim as an idolatrous priest, a young Levite from Bethlehem (Judges 17:7–13). The massacre of the Gibeah residents was also influenced by the murder of a concubine whose hometown it was (Judges 19–20).
Bethlehem Residents
During a famine, Naomi, her husband, and their two sons moved from Bethlehem to Moab (Ruth 1:1). Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth returned to Bethlehem after her husband and boys died (Ruth 1:16–19, 22). The valley where Ruth worked in Boaz’s fields is to the east of Bethlehem (Ruth 2:4). Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth, who married and had a child in Bethlehem, was also born there, making him King David’s great-grandfather (Ruth 4:13, 17).
Salma, a member of Caleb’s family who settled in Bethlehem, was given the moniker “the father of Bethlehem” (1 Chronicle 2:51). Elhanan, son of Dodo, and Asahel, two of King David’s illustrious men, were both raised in Bethlehem (2 Samuel 2:32; 23:24; 1 Chronicle 11:26).
David in Bethlehem
Three of David’s warriors sacrificed their lives by evading the capture of a Philistines garrison holding Bethlehem to give David water to consume from the spring at the city’s gate. At the same time, David had set up camp at Adullam’s cave (2 Samuel 23:13–17). Bethlehem eventually came to represent the king’s dynasty as the City of David. Bethlehem gained notoriety as a key military location under the guidance of Solomon and later Rehoboam. Some Jewish exiles stayed close to Bethlehem after Gedaliah was killed during the Babylonian occupation before traveling to Egypt numeral years later (Jeremiah 41:17). More than 100 Bethlehem residents were among those who later returned from captivity in Babylon to their own country (Ezra 2:21; Nehemiah 7:26).
Bethlehem, Jesus’s Birth Place
Despite being reduced to a small village in the New Testament, Bethlehem stands out above all other historical cities as the location of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor, ordered a census to be taken as Mary prepared to give birth. Every citizen was required by law to return to their residence to register. Mary traveled with Joseph, a son, and heir of King David, to Bethlehem. Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. Because they could not get a guest room, she covered him in clothes. He was put in a manger by her (Luke 2:7).
Herod in Bethlehem
In 37 BC, the Romans crowned King Herod king of Judea. Most historians concur that Herod’s reign was incredibly successful in different ways. King Herod, an Arab by birth but a devout Jew, expanded his realm from Palestine to include areas of modern Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. He did this by building forts, aqueducts, and amphitheaters, earning the nickname “Herodes Magnus,” or Herod the Great. Due to the Jewish population he oversaw, the Romans called Herod the “King of the Jews.” The term “King of the Jews” starts to clarify the image of Herod we know from the Bible.
Herod’s Image in Bethlehem
The image that most people have of Herod as an arrogant monarch who will do anything to maintain his throne is shaped by the Bible. When Herod, who was preparing to kill the new king, commanded the murder of all male babies, another prediction (Jeremiah 31:15) was realized under the age of two and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16–18). Around AD 330, Constantine the Great constructed Bethlehem’s Chapel of the Incarnation, which is still largely intact. It is said that Jesus Christ was conceived in a tunnel underneath the church.
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Isaac, Rami K., and Vincent Platenkamp. “The Actualization of the Critical Impulse in Critical Theory: Dialogical Rationality Around Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, Palestine.” Tourism Analysis, vol. 24, no. 1, 2019, pp. 101-113. Web.
Severn, Paul. “A History of Christian Pilgrimage.” International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, vol. 19, no. 4, 2019, pp. 323-339. Web.