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Bible Dictionaries
Bethlehem
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
or House 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 48:7 Micah 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 20:6 2 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 Judges 12:10 , in distinction from which the city of David was often called Bethlehem-Judah.
These files are public domain and are a derivative of the topics are from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary published in 1859.
Rand, W. W. Entry for 'Bethlehem'. American Tract Society Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ats/b/bethlehem.html. 1859.
