beth ́lē̇-hem (בּית־לחם, bēthleḥem; Βαιθλεέμ, Baithleém, or Βηθλεέμ, Bēthleém, “house of David,” or possibly “the house of Lakhmu,” an Assyrian deity):
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 (2 Samuel 23:14; 1 Chronicles 11:16) and was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 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.
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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia
Keywords: Bethlehem, Bethlehem Judah, Ephrath, Ephrathah
Bible reference(s): Genesis 35:16, Genesis 35:19, Genesis 48:7, Joshua 19:15, Judges 12:8, Judges 12:10, Ruth 1:19, Ruth 1:22, Ruth 2:4, Ruth 4:11, 1 Samuel 16:4, 1 Samuel 17:15, 1 Samuel 20:6, 1 Samuel 20:28, 2 Samuel 2:32, 2 Samuel 23:14, 2 Samuel 23:15, 2 Samuel 23:16, 2 Samuel 23:24, 1 Chronicles 2:19, 1 Chronicles 2:50, 1 Chronicles 2:51, 1 Chronicles 2:54, 1 Chronicles 4:4, 1 Chronicles 11:16, 1 Chronicles 11:17, 1 Chronicles 11:18, 1 Chronicles 11:26, 2 Chronicles 11:6, Ezra 2:21, Nehemiah 7:26, Psalms 132:6, Jeremiah 41:17, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1, Matthew 2:5, Matthew 2:6, Matthew 2:8, Matthew 2:16, Luke 2:4, Luke 2:15, John 7:42
Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.