Bethlehem

VIEW:51 DATA:01-04-2020

BETHLEHEM (‘house of bread’ or, according to some, ‘of the god Lakhmu’).—The name of two places in Palestine.
1. Bethlehem of Judah, otherwise Ephrath or Ephrathah, now represented by the town of Beit Lahm, 5 miles S. of Jerusalem. On the way thither Rachel was buried (Gen_35:19; Gen_48:7). Hence came the two Levites whose adventures are related in Jdg_17:1-13; Jdg_19:1-30. It was the home of Elimelech, the father-in-law of Ruth (Rth_1:1), and here Ruth settled with her second husband Boaz, and became the ancestress of the family of David, whose connexion with Bethlehem is emphasized throughout his history (1Sa_16:1-18; 1Sa_17:12; 1Sa_20:6 etc.). The Philistines had here a garrison during David’s outlawry (2Sa_23:14, 1Ch_11:16). Here Asahel was huried (2Sa_2:32), and hence came Elhanan, one of the mighty men (2Sa_23:24; cf. 2Sa_21:19). Rehoboam fortified it (2Ch_11:6), and here the murderers of Gedaliah took refuge (Jer_41:17). Whether the Salma referred to in 1Ch_2:51; 1Ch_2:54 as ‘father of Bethlehem’ (whatever that expression may exactly mean) be the same as the Salmon who was father of Boaz (Rth_4:20)—a theory the Greek version seems to justify—is doubtful. The town had some sanctity, and is indicated (Psa_132:6) as a suitable place for the Tabernacle. The birth of the Messiah there is prophesied in Mic_5:2 (quoted Mat_2:6, Joh_7:42), a prophecy fulfilled by the birth of Christ (Mat_2:1; Mat_2:5, Luk_2:4; Luk_2:15). Here Herod sent to seek the new-born Christ, and not finding Him ordered the massacre of the infants of the city (Mat_2:8; Mat_2:16). The modern town, containing about 8000 inhabitants, is Christian and comparatively prosperous. Within it stands the basilica of the Nativity, founded by Constantine (about 330), and restored by Justinian (about 550) and many later emperors. Within it are shown grottoes in which the various events of the Nativity are localized with the usual unreasoning definiteness.
2. Bethlehem of Zebulun, a place named but once (Jos_19:15), in enumerating the towns of that tribe. It is identified with Beit Lahm, 7 miles N.W. of Nazareth. It is probable that this was the home of Ibzan, the judge (Jdg_12:8-10), as almost all the judges belonged to the northern tribes.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

("house of bread"), i.e. in a fertile region. Two hours journey, in a southward or rather southwesterly direction from Jerusalem, by the Jaffa gate. Existing at the time of Jacob's return to Palestine; originally called Ephrath or Ephrath, i.e. fruitful (Gen_35:16; Gen_35:19; Gen_48:7; Psa_132:6). Hur and Salma, Hur's son, both have the title "father of Bethlehem" (1Ch_2:51; 1Ch_4:4). Hur is the father of Uri, father of Bezaleel (1Ch_2:20; Exo_31:2-11). Tradition made Jesse "a weaver of the veils of the sanctuary"; and as trades are hereditary in the E. he may have inherited the embroidering skill of his forefather whom Moses employed for the tabernacles being "filled with the spirit of God" (Exo_25:35). Hence appears the appropriateness of the allusions to the "weaver's beam" in representing the spears of giants slain by David and his heroes.
After the conquest of Canaan it bears the name Bethlehem Judah; distinguishing it from Bethlehem in Zebulun (Jos_19:15-16; now Beit-lahm, six miles W. of Nazareth). It was occupied once by a Philistine garrison, when David desired a draught from the well by the gate, so familiar to his childhood (2Sa_23:14-15; 1Ch_11:15-19). The Levite Jonathan, son of Gershom, who became the Danites' priest at their northern settlement, and the Levite's concubine whose cruel death at Gibeah caused the destruction of Benjamin, came from Bethlehem (Jdg_17:7; Jdg_18:30; Jdg_19:9.) The connection of Bethlehem with Moab appears in the book of Ruth. Hence the undesigned propriety appears of David, Ruth's descendant, choosing the king of Moab's house at Mizpeh as the safest retreat for his parents, when he was outlawed by Saul (1Sa_22:3-4).
Bethlehem was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch_11:6). In Jeremiah's time (Jer_41:17) the caravansary of Chimham near Bethlehem (see 2Sa_19:37-40) was the usual starting place for Egypt. The inn (kataluma) mentioned in Luke 2 was a similar one, and possibly the same. At the return from Babylon, 123 "children of Bethlehem" accompanied Zerubbabel (Ezr_2:21; Neh_7:26). Bethlehem is called the "city of David" (Luk_2:4), but the "town (Greek village) where David was" in Joh_7:42. Now Beitlahm, "the house of flesh." Solomon's pools and "gardens" (Ecc_2:5) lay S. of Bethlehem. Thekoa, built (fortified)by Rehoboam, lay S.E., the place of Amos' (Amo_1:1) birth (Amo_7:10-15). S.W. is the valley of Sennacherib's overthrow. N.E. is the traditional scene of the angels' vision to the shepherds; but the hills were more likely to have been the scene of the flocks being kept than the grain abounding valley.
Dr. Clarke identified a well of pure water here with that which David thirsted for; but the traditional site is a group of three cisterns half a mile away on the other side of the wady on the N., and Robinson denies the existence of any well of living water in or near the town (2Sa_23:15-18). Bethlehem is now a village with one chief street, and population (wholly Christian) of 3,000. The slopes outside abound in figs, vines, almonds and olives. The Church of the Nativity at the N. side was originally built by the empress Helena over the Lord's presumed birthplace; Justin Martyr in the 2nd century said that our Lord's birth took place in a cave close to the village. Justinian erected a more sumptuous church, with gray limestone columns and a lofty roof of cedar wood; but the present roof is of English oak, presented by Edward IV. The grotto of the nativity is beneath a crypt, 39 feet long, 11 broad, 9 high, hewn out of the rock and lined with marble.
A rich altar is over the supposed site of the Savior's birth, and a star of silver inlaid in white marble, with the inscription "Hie de virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est." A manger too is there of white marble (Luk_2:12). Jerome's sepulchre is near; Bethlehem being where he lived for 30 years, and diligently studied the Hebrew Scriptures, to prepare the Vulgate translation. In Mic_5:2, "Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, (though) thou be little among the thousands of Judah, (yet) out of thee shall He come forth unto Me (that is) to be ruler in Israel" seems to contradict Mat_2:6, "Thou art not the least among the princes of Juda."
Really, Matthew by independent inspiration unfolds further Micah's prophecy. For "Ephratah," now become obsolete, he substitutes" in the land of Jude"; furthermore he implies, "though thou art little in a worldly point of view, thou art the reverse of least among Jude's princes, in the spiritual glory of being Messiah's birthplace" (1Co_1:27-28). The low state of David's line when Messiah was born is also implied in Micah (Isa_53:2).
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Beth'lehem. (house of bread). One of the oldest towns in Palestine, already in existence, at the time of Jacob's return to the country. Its earliest name was Ephratah, Ephrath or Ephratah. See Gen_35:16; Gen_35:19; Gen_48:7.
After the conquest, Bethlehem appears under its own name, Bethlehem-Judah. Jdg_17:7; 1Sa_17:12; Rth_1:1-2. The book of Ruth is a page from the domestic history of Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, Rth_1:19, and of David. 1Sa_17:12. It was fortified by Rehoboam. 2Ch_11:6.
It was here that our Lord was born, Mat_2:1, and here, that he was visited by the shepherds, Luk_2:15-17, and the Magi. Matthew 2.
The modern town of Beit-lahm lies to the east of the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, six miles from the former. It covers the east and northeast parts of the ridge of a long gray hill of Jura limestone, which stands nearly due east and west, and is about a mile in length.
The hill has a deep valley on the north and another on the south. On the top, lies the village in a kind of irregular triangle. The population is about 3000 souls, entirely Christians. The Church of the Nativity, built by the empress Helena, A.D. 330, is the oldest Christian church in existence. It is built over the grotto where Christ is supposed to have been born. A town in the portion of Zebulun, named nowhere, but in Jos_19:15. Now known as Beit-lahm.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

a city in the tribe of Judah, Jdg_17:7; and likewise called Ephrath, Gen_48:7; or Ephratah, Mic_5:2; and the inhabitants of it, Ephrathites, Rth_1:2; 1Sa_17:12. Here David was born, and spent his early years as a shepherd. And here also the scene of the beautiful narrative of Ruth is supposed to be laid. But its highest honour is, that here our divine Lord condescended to be born of woman:—”And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting.” Travellers describe the first view of Bethlehem as imposing. The town appears covering the ridge of a hill on the southern side of a deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west. The most conspicuous object is the monastery erected over the supposed “Cave of the Nativity;” its walls and battlements have the air of a large fortress. From this same point, the Dead Sea is seen below on the left, seemingly very near, “but,” says Sandys, “not so found by the traveller; for these high, declining mountains are not to be directly descended.” The road winds round the top of a valley which tradition has fixed on as the scene of the angelic vision which announced the birth of our Lord to the shepherds; but different spots have been selected, the Romish authorities not being agreed on this head. Bethlehem (called in the New Testament Bethlehem Ephrata and Bethlehem of Judea, to distinguish it from Bethlehem of Zabulon) is situated on a rising ground, about two hours' distance, or not quite six miles from Jerusalem. Here the traveller meets with a repetition of the same puerilities and disgusting mummery which he has witnessed at the church of the sepulchre. “The stable,” to use the words of Pococke, “in which our Lord was born, is a grotto cut out of the rock, according to the eastern custom.” It is astonishing to find so intelligent a writer as Dr. E. D. Clarke gravely citing St. Jerom, who wrote in the fifth century, as an authority for the truth of the absurd legend by which the cave of the nativity is supposed to be identified. The ancient tombs and excavations are occasionally used by the Arabs as places of shelter; but the Gospel narrative affords no countenance to the notion that the Virgin took refuge in any cave of this description. On the contrary, it was evidently a manger belonging to the inn or khan: in other words, the upper rooms being wholly occupied, the holy family were compelled to take up their abode in the court allotted to the mules and horses, or other animals. But the New Testament was not the guide which was followed by the mother of Constantine, to whom the original church owed its foundation. The present edifice is represented by Chateaubriand as of undoubtedly high antiquity; yet Doubdan, an old traveller, says that the monastery was destroyed in the year 1263 by the Moslems; and in its present state, at all events, it cannot lay claim to a higher date. The convent is divided among the Greek, Roman, and Armenian Christians, to each of whom separate parts are assigned as places of worship and habitations for the monks, but, on certain days, all may perform their devotions at the altars erected over the consecrated spots. The church is built in the form of a cross; the nave being adorned with forty-eight Corinthian columns in four rows, each column being two feet six inches in diameter, and eighteen feet high, including the base and the capital. The nave, which is in possession of the Armenians, is separated from the three other branches of the cross by a wall, so that the unity of the edifice is destroyed. The top of the cross is occupied by the choir, which belongs to the Greeks. Here is an altar dedicated to the wise men of the east, at the foot of which is a marble star, corresponding, as the monks say, to the point of the heavens where the miraculous meteor became stationary, and directly over the spot where the Saviour was born in the subterranean church below! A flight of fifteen steps, and a long narrow passage, conduct to the sacred crypt or grotto of the nativity, which is thirty-seven feet six inches long, by eleven feet three inches in breadth, and nine feet high. It is lined and floored with marble, and provided on each side with five oratories, “answering precisely to the ten cribs or stalls for horses that the stable in which our Saviour was born contained!” The precise spot of the birth is marked by a glory in the floor, composed of marble and jasper encircled with silver, around which are inscribed the words, Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est [Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.] Over it is a marble table or altar, which rests against the side of the rock, here cut into an arcade. The manager is at the distance of seven paces from the altar; it is in a low recess hewn out of the rock, to which you descend by two steps, and consists of a block of marble, raised about a foot and a half above the floor, and hollowed out in the form of a manger. Before it is the altar of the Magi. The chapel is illuminated by thirty-two lamps, presented by different princes of Christendom. Chateaubriand has described the scene in his usual florid and imaginative style: “Nothing can be more pleasing, or better calculated to excite devotional sentiments, than this subterraneous church. It is adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools, which represent the mysteries of the place. The usual ornaments of the manger are of blue satin, embroidered with silver. Incense is continually burning before the cradle of our Saviour. I have heard an organ, touched by no ordinary hand, play, during mass, the sweetest and most tender tunes of the best Italian composers. These concerts charm the Christian Arab, who, leaving his camels to feed, repairs, like the shepherds of old, to Bethlehem, to adore the King of kings in the manger. I have seen this inhabitant of the desert communicate at the altar of the Magi, with a fervour, a piety, a devotion, unknown among the Christians of the west. The continual arrival of caravans from all the nations of Christendom; the public prayers; the prostrations; nay, even the richness of the presents sent here by the Christian princes, altogether produce feelings in the soul, which it is much easier to conceive than to describe.”
Such are the illusions which the Roman superstition casts over this extraordinary scene! In another subterraneous chapel, tradition places the sepulchre of the Innocents. From this, the pilgrim is conducted to the grotto of St. Jerom, where they show the tomb of that father, who passed great part of his life in this place; and who, in the grotto shown as his oratory, is said to have translated that version of the Bible which has been adopted by the church of Rome, and is called the Vulgate. He died at the advanced age of ninety-one, A.D. 422. The village of Bethlehem contains about three hundred inhabitants, the greater part of whom gain their livelihood by making beads, carving mother-of-pearl shells with sacred subjects, and manufacturing small tables and crucifixes, all which are eagerly purchased by the pilgrims.
Bethlehem has been visited by many modern travellers. The following notice of it by Dr. E. D. Clarke will be read with interest: “After travelling for about an hour from the time of our leaving Jerusalem, we came in view of Bethlehem, and halted to enjoy the interesting sight. The town appeared covering the ridge of a hill on the southern side of a deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west; the most conspicuous object being the monastery, erected over the cave of the nativity, in the suburbs, and upon the eastern side. The battlements and walls of this building seemed like those of a vast fortress. The Dead Sea below, upon our left, appeared so near to us that we thought we could have rode thither in a very short space of time. Still nearer stood a mountain upon its western shore, resembling in its form the cone of Vesuvius near Naples, and having also a crater upon its top which was plainly discernible. The distance, however, is much greater than it appears to be; the magnitude of the objects beheld in this fine prospect causing them to appear less remote than they really are. The atmosphere was remarkably clear and serene; but we saw none of those clouds of smoke, which, by some writers, are said to exhale from the surface of the lake, nor from any neighbouring mountain. Every thing about it was in the highest degree grand and awful. Bethlehem is six miles from Jerusalem. Josephus describes the interval between the two cities as equal only to twenty stadia; and in the passage referred to, he makes an allusion to a celebrated well, which, both from the account given by him of its situation, and more especially from the text of the sacred Scriptures, 2Sa_23:15, seems to have contained the identical fountain, of whose pure and delicious water we were now drinking. Considered merely in point of interest, the narrative is not likely to be surpassed by any circumstance of Pagan history. David, being a native of Bethlehem, calls to mind, during the sultry days of harvest, 2Sa_23:13, a well near the gate of the town, the delicious waters of which he had often tasted; and expresses an earnest desire to assuage his thirst by drinking of that limpid spring. ‘And David longed, and said, O that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!' The exclamation is overheard by ‘three of the mighty men whom David had,' namely, Adino, Eleazar, and Shamnah, 2Sa_23:8-9; 2Sa_23:11. These men sallied forth, and having fought their way through the garrison of the Philistines at Bethlehem, 2Sa_23:14, ‘drew water from the well that was by the gate,' on the other side of the town, and brought it to David. Coming into his presence, they present to him the surprising testimony of their valour and affection. The aged monarch receives from their hands a pledge they had so dearly earned, but refuses to drink of water every drop of which had been purchased with blood, 2Sa_23:17. He returns thanks to the Almighty, who had vouchsafed the deliverance of his warriors from the jeopardy they had encountered; and pouring out the water as a libation on the ground, makes an offering of it to the Lord. The well still retains its pristine renown; and many an expatriated Bethlehemite has made it the theme of his longing and regret.”
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

Known originally as Ephrath, Bethlehem was a small town a few kilometres south of Jerusalem. It was already an established settlement in the time of Jacob. Not far from the town was the place where Jacob buried his wife Rachel (Gen_35:19-20).
Bethlehem was situated in the tribal territory of Judah, in country that was hilly but suitable for growing grain and raising sheep (Rth_1:1; Rth_2:1-4; 1Sa_17:15; Luk_2:8-15). It was the home of Israel’s greatest king, David (1Sa_17:12; 1Sa_20:6; 2Sa_23:14-16; cf. Rth_4:11-17), and the birthplace of the great ‘son of David’, the promised Messiah, Jesus (Mic_5:2; Mat_2:1-6; Luk_2:4; Luk_2:11; Luk_2:15; Joh_7:42).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.

beth?lē̇-hem (בּית־לחם, bēthleḥem; Βαιθλεέμ, Baithleém, or Βηθλεέμ, Bēthleém, ?house of David,? or possibly ?the house of Lakhmu,? an Assyrian deity):
I. Bethlehem Judah
Bethlehem Judah, or EPHRATH or EPHRATHAH (which see) is now Beit Lahm (Arabic = ?house of meat?), a town of upward of 10,000 inhabitants, 5 miles South of Jerusalem and 2,350 ft. above sea level. It occupies an outstanding position upon a spur running East from the watershed with deep valleys to the Northeast and South It is just off the main road to Hebron and the south, but upon the highroad to Tekoa and En-gedi. The position is one of natural strength; it was occupied by a garrison of the Philistines in the days of David (2Sa_23:14; 1Ch_11:16) and was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch_11:6). The surrounding country is fertile, cornfields, fig and olive yards and vineyards abound. Bethlehem is not naturally well supplied with water, the nearest spring is 800 yds. to the Southeast, but for many centuries the ?low level aqueduct? from ?Solomon's Pools? in the Arṭās valley, which has here been tunneled through the hill, has been tapped by the inhabitants; there are also many rock-cut cisterns.
1. Early History
In 1Ch_2:51 Salma, the son of Caleb, is described as the ?father of Bethlehem.? In Gen_35:19; Gen_48:7 it is recorded that Rachel ?was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem).? Tradition points out the site of Rachel's tomb near where the road to Bethlehem leaves the main road. The Levites of the events of Jdg_17:1-13; 19 were Bethlehemites. In the list of the towns of Judah the name Bethlehem occurs, in the Septuagint version only in Jos_15:57.
2. David the Bethlehemite
Ruth, famous chiefly as the ancestress of David, and of the Messiah, settled in Bethlehem with her second husband Boaz, and it is noticeable that from her new home she could view the mountains of Moab, her native land. David himself ?was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse? (1Sa_17:12). To Bethlehem came Samuel to anoint a successor to unworthy Saul (1Sa_16:4): ?David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem? (1Sa_17:15). David's ?Three mighty men? ?brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David? (2Sa_23:14, 2Sa_23:16). Tradition still points out the well. From this town came those famous ?sons of Zeruiah,? David's nephews, whose loyalty and whose ruthless cruelty became at once a protection and a menace to their royal relative: in 2Sa_2:32 it is mentioned that one of them, Asahel, was buried ?in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem.?
3. Later Bible History
After the time of David, Bethlehem would appear to have sunk into insignificance. But its future fame is pointed at by Micah (Mic_5:2): ?But 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.?
In the return of the Jews captive Bethlehemites re-inhabited the place (Ezr_2:21; Neh_7:26 ?men?; 1 Esdras 5:17 ?sons?).
4. The Christian Era
In the New Testament Bethlehem is mentioned as the birthplace of the Messiah Jesus (Mat_2:1, Mat_2:5; Luk_2:4, Luk_2:25) in consequence of which event occurred Herod's ?massacre of the innocents? (Mat_2:8, 26). Inasmuch as Hadrian devastated Bethlehem and set up there a sacred grove to Adonis (Jerome, Ep. ad Paul, lviii.3) it is clear that veneration of this spot as the site of the Nativity must go back before 132 ad. Constantine (circa 330) founded a basilica over the cave-stable which tradition pointed out as the scene of the birth, and his church, unchanged in general structure though enlarged by Justinian and frequently adorned, repaired and damaged, remains today the chief attraction of the town. During the Crusades, Bethlehem became of great importance and prosperity; it remained in Christian hands after the overthrow of the Latin kingdom, and at the present day it is in material things one of the most prosperous Christian centers in the Holy Land.
II. Bethlehem of Zebulun
Bethlehem of Zebulun (Jos_19:15) was probably the home of Ibzan (Jdg_12:8, 20) though Jewish tradition is in support of (1). See Josephus, Ant, V, vii, 13. This is now the small village of Beit Lahm, some 7 miles Northwest of Nazareth on the edge of the oak forest. Some antiquities have been found here recently, showing that in earlier days it was a place of some importance. It is now the site of a small German colony. See PEF, I, 270, Sh V.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

Beth?lehem, (house or place of bread, i.q.. Bread-town)a city of Judah (Jdg_17:7), six miles southward from Jerusalem, on the road to Hebron. It was generally called Bethlehem-Judah, to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Zebulun (Jos_19:15; Jdg_12:10). It is also called Ephratah (the fruitful), and its inhabitants Ephratites (Gen_48:7; Mic_5:2). Bethlehem is chiefly celebrated as the birth place of David and of Christ, and as the scene of the Book of Ruth. It was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch_11:6); but it does not appear to have been a place of much importance; for Micah, extolling the moral pre-eminence of Bethlehem, says, 'Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,' etc. (Mic_5:2). There never has been any dispute or doubt about the site of Bethlehem, which has always been an inhabited place, and, from its sacred associations, has been visited by an unbroken series of pilgrims and travelers. It is now a large straggling village, beautifully situated on the brow of a high hill, and consisting chiefly of one broad and principal street. The houses are built for the most part of clay and bricks; and every house is provided with an apiary, the beehives of which are constructed of a series of earthen pots, ranged on the housetops. The inhabitants are said to be 3000, and were all native Christians at the time of the most recent visits; for Ibrahim Pasha, finding that the Muslim and Christian inhabitants were always at strife, caused the former to withdraw, and left the village in quiet possession of the latter, whose numbers had always greatly predominated. The chief trade and manufacture of the inhabitants consist of beads, crosses, and other relics, which are sold at a great profit. Some of the articles, wrought in mother-of-pearl, are carved with more skill than one would expect to find in that remote quarter; and the workmanship in some instances would not discredit the artists of Britain. The people are said to be remarkable for their ferocity and rudeness, which is indeed the common character of the inhabitants of most of the places accounted holy in the East.
At the farthest extremity of the town is the Latin convent, connected with which is the Church of the Nativity, said to have been built by the empress Helena. It has suffered much from time, but still bears manifest traces of its Grecian origin; and is alleged to be the most chaste architectural building now remaining in Palestine. Two spiral staircases lead to the cave called the 'Grotto of the Nativity,' which is about 20 feet below the level of the church. This cave is lined with Italian marbles, and lighted by numerous lamps. Here the pilgrim is conducted with due solemnity to a star inlaid in the marble, marking the exact spot where the Savior was born, and corresponding to that in the firmament occupied by the meteor which intimated that great event; he is then led to one of the sides, where, in a kind of recess, a little below the level of the rest of the floor, is a block of white marble, hollowed out in the form of a manger, and said to mark the place of the one in which the infant Jesus was laid. His attention is afterwards directed to the 'Sepulcher of the Innocents;' to the grotto in which St. Jerome passed the greater portion of his life; and to the chapels dedicated to Joseph and other saints. There has been much controversy respecting the claims of this grotto to be regarded as the place in which our Lord was born. Tradition is in its favor, but facts and probabilities are against it. It is useless to deny that there is much force in a tradition regarding a locality, which can be traced up to a period not remote from that of the event commemorated; and this event was so important as to make the scene of it a point of such unremitting attention, that the knowledge of the spot was not likely to be lost. This view would be greatly strengthened if it could be satisfactorily proved that Hadrian, to cast odium upon the mysteries of the Christian religion, not only erected statues of Jupiter and Venus over the holy Sepulcher and on Calvary, but placed one of Adonis over the spot of the Nativity at Bethlehem. This part of the evidence is examined under another head [GOLGOTHA]. Against tradition, whatever may be its value in the present case, we have to place the utter improbability that a subterranean cavern like this, with a steep descent, should ever have been used as a stable for cattle, and, what is more, for the stable of a khan or caravanserai, which doubtless the 'inn' of Luk_2:7 was. Although therefore it is true that cattle are, and always have been, stabled in caverns in the East; yet certainly not in such caverns as this, which appears to have been originally a tomb. Old empty tombs often, it is argued, afford shelter to man and cattle; but such was not the case among the Jews, who held themselves ceremonially defiled by contact with sepulchers. Besides, the circumstance of Christ's having been born in a cave would not have been less remarkable than his being laid in a manger, and was more likely to have been noticed by the Evangelist, if it had occurred: and it is also to be observed that the present grotto is at some distance from the town, whereas Christ appears to have been born in the town, and whatever may be the case in the open country, it has never been usual in towns to employ caverns as stables for cattle.
On the north-east side of the town is a deep valley, alleged to be that in which the angels appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of the Savior (Luk_2:8). In the same valley is a fountain of delicious water, said with reasonable probability to be that for which David longed, and which three of his mighty men procured for him at the hazard of their lives (2Sa_23:15-18).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Rth_1:1 (c) From Bethlehem to Moab represents the backsliding of a child of GOD who leaves the "House of Bread" (which is the meaning of the word), the place where GOD blesses, and travels back into the world to enjoy the things that strangers have to offer. He forgets that there are tears and graves in Moab.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.

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