A town in the territory of Judah, southwest of Jerusalem, where Jesus was born; ancestral town of King David.
About Bethlehem (of Judah)
“City of David” and the birthplace of Jesus Christ. It is located eight kilometers (five miles) south of Jerusalem. To distinguish it from another Bethlehem in the region of Zebulun, this city is sometimes called Bethlehem-Judah or Ephrath (Genesis 35:19; Micah 5:2).
Bethlehem was originally a Canaanite settlement connected to the patriarchs. Rachel, the wife of Jacob, died and was buried near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7). The earliest historical mention of Bethlehem comes from the Amarna letters in the 14th century BC, where it is referred to as bitil u-lahama, located south of Jerusalem. The name might have meant “house of the goddess Lahama.” A branch of Caleb’s family settled there, and his son Salma was known as “the father of Bethlehem” (1 Chronicles 2:51). Bethlehem was also the home of a young Levite who served as a priest to Micah (Judges 17:7–8), and of Boaz, Ruth, Obed, and Jesse—the father of David (Ruth 4:11, 17; 1 Samuel 16:18).
Bethlehem was the birthplace of David (1 Samuel 17:12) and the home of one of David’s mighty men, Elhanan (2 Samuel 23:24; 1 Chronicles 11:26). It was the site of a brave act by three of David’s soldiers, who broke through a group of Philistine raiders occupying Bethlehem to bring David water from the well near the city gate (2 Samuel 23:14–17). Much later, Bethlehem is mentioned as being near the village of Geruth-Kimham, where Jews fleeing from the Babylonians stayed on their way to Egypt (Jeremiah 41:17). People from Bethlehem were among those who returned from the Babylonian exile (Ezra 2:21; Nehemiah 7:26; 1 Esdras 5:17).
When Jesus was born there, Bethlehem was only a village (Matthew 2:1–16; Luke 2:4–6, 15; John 7:42). Because of a census ordered by Caesar Augustus, Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, “since he was from the house and line of David” (Luke 2:4). It is possible that the family still owned property there. The birth of Jesus may have taken place in a cave outside the town, a belief held by early Christian writers like Justin Martyr and Origen. Origen, who lived in the Holy Land, wrote, “In Bethlehem, you are shown the cave where he was born and within the cave the manger where he was wrapped in swaddling clothes.”
Later, Jerome described the grotto (a small cave), which was a basilica built by Emperor Constantine. Archaeological digs in 1934–35 revealed that a second phase of the building occurred during the reign of Justinian in AD 527 to 565 when Constantine’s basilica was enlarged. Steps lead down to the grotto, which has a rectangular shape, suggesting that Constantine’s builders altered the original cave. However, there is no description of the grotto before Constantine’s basilica was constructed.
Key References
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
All Scripture References (57)
Genesis (3)
Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
Judges (9)
After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.
And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah.
This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.
“Where are you from?” Micah asked him. “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”
Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. After she had been there four months,
her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking his servant and a pair of donkeys. So the girl brought him into her father’s house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.
The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD; but no one has taken me into his home,
Ruth (7)
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.
So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
1 Samuel (8)
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and the LORD is with him.”
Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons. And in the days of Saul, Jesse was old and well along in years.
but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
“Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David urgently requested my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because there is an annual sacrifice for his whole clan.’
Jonathan answered, “David urgently requested my permission to go to Bethlehem,
2 Samuel (6)
And they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.
Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem.
David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,
Now these were members of the Thirty: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
1 Chronicles (8)
Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth-gader.
The descendants of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites,
Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.
Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi-lehem. (These names are from ancient records.)
At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem.
David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
So the Three broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,
Now these were the mighty men: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
2 Chronicles (1)
He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
Ezra (1)
the men of Bethlehem, 123;
Nehemiah (1)
the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;
Psalms (1)
We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
Jeremiah (1)
And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, near Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt
Micah (1)
Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.
Matthew (6)
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
Luke (3)
So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
John (1)
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”