Place

Bethlehem

Also known as Beit Lehem · Ephrath · Ephrathah · City of David

Birthplace of David and, in Christian tradition, Jesus; a small town about six miles south of Jerusalem in the Judean hill country.

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Where it is

Modern name: Bethlehem
Country: Palestinian Territories (West Bank)
Coordinates: 31.7054° N, 35.2024° E
Region: Judean Hill Country
Kind of place: Town
Era: Ancient and modern

Bethlehem in Scripture

19 verses name it — all of them

Genesis 35:16And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was still some distance to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.
Genesis 35:19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem).
Genesis 48:7And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some distance to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem).
Joshua 19:15and Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
Ruth 4:11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:
1 Chronicles 2:19And Azubah died, and Caleb took unto him Ephrath, who bare him Hur.
1 Chronicles 2:24And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephrathah, then Abijah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
1 Chronicles 2:50These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim,
1 Chronicles 4:4and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah, the father of Beth-lehem.
Psalms 132:6Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah: We found it in the field of the wood.
Micah 5:2But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
Matthew 2:1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
Matthew 2:5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written through the prophet,
Matthew 2:6And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel.
Matthew 2:8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship him.
Matthew 2:16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.
Luke 2:4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
Luke 2:15And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
John 7:42Hath not the scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?

The account

Bethlehem appears in Scripture as the burial place of Rachel (Genesis 35:19), the home of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 1–4), the birthplace and anointing place of David (1 Samuel 16:1; 17:12), and the birthplace of Jesus (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4–7). Micah 5:2 prophesies a ruler coming from Bethlehem Ephratah; the Gospel of Matthew explicitly cites this verse in connection with Jesus' birth. The Church of the Nativity, built originally under Constantine in the 4th century CE, stands over the traditional cave of the Nativity and is one of the oldest continuously-operating churches in the world (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The town is distinguished in Scripture from the northern Bethlehem in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15) by the qualifier "Bethlehem of Judah" or "Bethlehem Ephratah."

Where this leads

from Bethlehem

Sources (4)

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897): Bethlehem · accessed 2026-04-17Public domain.
ISBE (1915): Bethlehem · accessed 2026-04-17Public domain.
Wikipedia: Bethlehem · accessed 2026-04-17CC-BY-SA.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity · accessed 2026-04-17Primary reference for the Church of the Nativity.