Bethlehem

Introduction

Bethlehem, also called Ephrath or Ephratah, is a town in Israel, located about five miles south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem is an important place for Christians, as biblical accounts have it named as the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
 

Biblical History of Bethlehem

In the Old Testament, Bethlehem became noteworthy when Rachel, the wife of the patriarch Jacob, was buried there. Bethlehem is also known amongst Christians as the hometown of David and is historically known as a place of refuge, where Judeans stayed during the 6th century BCE exile. Most notably, Bethlehem is named in the Bible as the birthplace of Jesus.

According to the Bible, Joseph brought Mary to the town, despite her advanced pregnancy, as part of the Roman census. At the time, it was the law return to one’s hometown during census time. The Christian birth narrative depicts Jesus as being born in a stable, as the Bible states that all of the inns in Bethlehem were full at the time of Mary and Joseph’s arrival. Traditional nativity scenes depict a cozy shelter, often a barn, though most animal shelters in use during that time were caves.

Church of the Nativity

During the 4th century CE, Constantine constructed the Church of the Nativity over the cave in which Jesus was supposedly born. That church was destroyed at the beginning of the 6th century. Justinian I built a larger church in its place, one that remains to the present. In 1934, excavations conducted in the church revealed that the original Constantinian structure once held relics that were attributed to the ancient Church of the Nativity.

source : www.faithology.com