Bethlehem: town in Judaea, birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth.
Bethlehem
Bethlehem on the Madaba Map
Already mentioned in the Amarna Letters (fourteenth century BCE), when king Abdu-Heba of Jerusalem asks the king of Egypt for archers to recover Bit Lahmi
Birthplace of Davidnote[1 Samuel 16.]
Walled city, garrisoned by the Philistinesnote[2 Samuel 23.14.]
Fortified by king Rehoboam
Prediction by the prophet Micah: "out of you will come one who will be ruler over Israel".note[Micah 5.1-6.] This line was read as Messianic
Birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth (according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke); later, caves were mentioned as the real birthplace
