Page 83 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

Bethlehem

Bethlehem means “House of Bread” and lies about six miles
south by west of Jerusalem. The ancient city was situated on
a commanding ridge, 2700 feet above sea level. The hills
around it were terraced and covered with vines, fig trees,
almonds, and luxuriant harvests of grain. Jacob buried Rachel
near its gate, and it was the home of Ruth, the birthplace of
David, and of course, Jesus Christ. Before being called
Bethlehem, it was known as Ephrath or Ephrata (Gen 35:16-
19 and Josh. 15:59). Its population was very small during the
time of Christ but has grown significantly to around 3000. St.
Jerome lived there for more than thirty years, and there
made his famous translation of the Bible into the Latin
language. It is currently under the control of the Palestinians
so tourists must pass through the West Bank to visit the city.

It is an important city because in Micah 5:2 it was prophesied Inside the Church of the Nativity, Christian pilgrims
that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And that the crowd around the traditional place of Jesus’ birth,
Messiah which is marked by a star on the floor.
would also
come from Picture By DE.MOLAI - Originally uploaded on
the Italian Wikipedia., Public Domain,
the family https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php
of David. ?curid=1598983
David was
born there, as was the fulfillment of both
prophecies concerning Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Bethlehem has many churches in the midst of a predominately
Muslim population.

Bethany
Located on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet, it is about two miles southeast of Jerusalem on the road
to Jericho. It was the favorite resort of Jesus Christ, as was the home of his friends, Lazarus, Martha, and
Mary. It was the scene of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and was near the spot where the Savior
ascended into Heaven. It derived its name from the
number of palm-trees which grew there.

Simon the leper lived in Bethany, and it was at Simon’s
house that a woman came and poured expensive perfume
on the head of Jesus. Also, from Bethany, Jesus made his

The picture to the right is the reputed Tomb of
Lazarus in Bethany - Picture by Marion Doss from Scranton,
Kansas, USA - GCC Trip To Israel in 2007, CC BY-SA 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4756839

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