Page 64 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

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 that
the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And that the Messiah
would also come from the family of David. David was born there, Inside the Church of the Nativity, Christian pilgrims
as was the fulfillment of both prophecies concerning Jesus Christ crowd around the traditional place of Jesus’ birth,
the Messiah. which is marked by a star on the floor.

Star Picture By DE.MOLAI - Originally uploaded on the Italian Wikipedia., Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1598983

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 triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Probably the colt was obtained here for that entry. He
abode there several nights before His betrayal. Coming
from Bethany, Jesus cursed the fig tree (Mark 11:12-13)

The picture to the left is the reputed Tomb of Lazarus in
Bethany Picture by 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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