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Bethlehem

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Bethlehem [Heb.,=house of bread or house of Lahm, a goddess], Arab. Bayt Lahm, town (2003 est. pop. 28,000), in the West Bank . It is traditionally considered the birthplace of Jesus and is one of the world's great shrines. Situated on a hill in green, fertile country, Bethlehem looks across to the Dead Sea and beyond. Its inhabitants, who are Muslim and Christian Arabs, depend largely on pilgrims and tourists for their livelihood. Handicrafts, fashioned from olive wood and mother-of-pearl, embroidered goods, and religious articles are made in the town. Bethlehem is also the trade center for surrounding farming villages and for the pastoral nomads who inhabit the area.

In the Old Testament Bethlehem was the scene of the book of Ruth and the home of David. The tomb of Rachel is nearby. Benjamin was born near Ephratah (or Ephrath), which was either an earlier name for Bethlehem or a nearby town. David and his family neglected their city, which became obscure, forgotten by all except those who looked to Bethlehem for the Messiah .

The city later became important as the birthplace of Jesus. Hadrian desecrated (AD 135) the traditional place of the nativity with a grove sacred to Adonis . In 315, Constantine destroyed the heathen grove and constructed instead the Church of the Nativity (completed 333). The church, rebuilt and enlarged by Justinian I in the 6th cent., is now shared by monks of Greek, Latin, and Armenian orders. The place where Jesus was born is said to have been in the grotto under the church. Saint Jerome lived (386–420?) in the court of the church and produced there the Vulgate text of the Bible.

From 1099 to 1187, Crusaders controlled Bethlehem, and in 1571 the city was annexed by the Ottoman Empire. It was part of the British-administered Palestine mandate from 1922 until 1948, when it joined Jordan. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Bethlehem became part of the Israeli-occupied territories, administered militarily by Israeli troops. Palestinian refugee camps were located nearby. In Dec., 1995, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem as part of the process of establishing Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank, but the city was the scene of Palestinian-Israeli fighting in the renewed conflict that began in 2000.

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Bethlehem

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Bethlehem city (1990 pop. 71,428), Northampton and Lehigh counties, E Pa., on the Lehigh R. near Allentown and Easton ; inc. as a city 1917. Local manufacturing, once dominated by the giant Bethlehem Steel Corp., is now more diversified. Chemicals, machines, cement, and textiles have been important, and a semiconductor industry is growing rapidly. A gambling casino opened in 2009. Bethlehem was settled in 1740–41 by Moravians (see Moravian Church ) and incorporated as a borough in 1845. Steelmaking began in the early 1870s, and Bethlehem Steel's structural-steel mill opened in 1908; in 1995, when it closed, the steelmaking era ended. Many of the mill's huge buildings remain in the city. In Bethlehem is the Moravian Museum, which incorporates the Gemeinhaus (1741); the Central Moravian Church (c.1803); and the Schnitz House (1749). An internationally famous spring music festival performed by the Bach Choir (1898) is held in the city. Bethlehem is the seat of Lehigh Univ. and Moravian College.

Bibliography: See R. Schwartz, Bethlehem on the Lehigh (1991).

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Bethlehem

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Copyright

Bethlehem. The small town 5 miles S. of Jerusalem which was the native city of David and the birthplace of Christ. It contains the ‘Church of the Nativity’, built by Constantine in 330 on the supposed site of Christ's birth; much of the original church survives. For the Council of Bethlehem (1672) see JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Bethlehem.html

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Bethlehem

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Bethlehem town (1991 pop. 80,921), Free State, E central South Africa. It is situated in a farming and livestock area and has industries producing furniture and food products. Bethlehem was founded in 1860, and its main growth began after the railroad from Natal (present-day KwaZulu-Natal) reached there in 1905.

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Bethlehem

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Bethlehem. Town located 5 miles south of Jerusalem. On the basis of Micah 5. 2, Jesus' birth in the city is understood by Christians as the fulfilment of prophecy (Matthew 2. 1–12; Luke 2. 1–20).

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JOHN BOWKER. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Bethlehem.html

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Bethlehem

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Bethlehem a small town to the south of Jerusalem, first mentioned in Egyptian records of the 14th century bc. It was the native city of King David and is the reputed birthplace of Jesus. (See also bedlam.)

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Bethlehem." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Bethlehem." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Bethlehem.html

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Bethlehem

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

Bethlehem. Choral-drama by Boughton. Lib. based on medieval Coventry Play. (Prod. Street, Somerset, 1915).

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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-Bethlehem.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Bethlehem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-Bethlehem.html

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Bethlehem

Bethlehem •ahem, Belém, Clem, condemn, contemn, crème de la crème, em, gem, hem, Jem, LibDem, phlegm, pro tem, rem, Shem, stem, them •carpe diem, per diem •proem • idem • modem • diadem •mayhem • Bethlehem • ad hominem •ad valorem • brainstem •apophthegm (US apothegm)

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"Bethlehem." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Bethlehem." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Bethlehem.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Bethlehem (near Swansea ) post office is a shining light; SPIRIT: Ann Harris... Newspaper article from: The Mail on Sunday (London, England); 12/21/2008
	Bethlehem Celebrates Christmas Under Palestinian Rule Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 12/25/1995
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