31°42N 35°12E, pop (2000e) 25 000. Biblical town in Jerusalem governorate, Israeli-occupied West Bank, W Jordan; 8 km/5 mi SW of Jerusalem; birthplace of Jesus and the home of David; trade centre for surrounding agricultural area; university (1973); Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine, 330 (scene of a 39-day siege by Israeli troops when a group of Palestinian men took refuge inside, 2002); Monastery of Elijah (6th-c, restored).
This article is about the city in the West Bank territory occupied by Israel. For other uses, see Bethlehem (disambiguation).Bethlehem (Arabic بيت لحم Bayt Laḥm (help·info) "house of meat";
The city has great significance for Christianity as it is the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Bethlehem is also home to one of largest Palestinian Christian communities in the Middle East. The Bethlehem agglomeration includes the small towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, the latter also having biblical significance.
The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine the Great (330 AD), stands in the centre of Bethlehem over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, which according to Christian tradition is the place where Jesus was born.
Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University, a major Roman Catholic institution which was founded under the direction of the Vatican.
History
Biblical
The city, located in the "hill country" of Judah, was originally called Ephrath (Gen.
City of David
Bethlehem is the birth-place of David, the second king of Israel, and it is also the place where he was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Sam. and it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in the cave of Adullam (2 Sam.
Jesus' birthplace
Since it was distinguished above every other city as the birth-place of "Him whose goings forth have been of old" (Micah 5:2), it was here that the birth of Christ was expected. Accordingly, the gospels (Luke 2:4 and Matthew 2:1) report that Jesus, whom they proclaim as the Messiah, was born in Bethlehem, although he grew up in Nazareth. Matthew reports that Herod had "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under" killed when Jesus was born (Matt.
Roman and Byzantine periods
The city was wrecked during Bar Kokhba's revolt (132-135 AD) and the Romans set up a shrine to Adonis on the site of the Nativity. Only in 326 was the first Christian church constructed, when Helena, the mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine, visited Bethlehem.
During the Samaritan revolt of 529, Bethlehem was sacked and its walls and the Church of the Nativity destroyed, but they were soon rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor Justinian. In 614, the Persians invaded Palestine and captured Bethlehem.
Arab rule and the Crusades
In 637, shortly after Jerusalem was captured by the Muslim armies, the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited Bethlehem and promised that the Church of the Nativity would be preserved for Christian use.
In 1099, Bethlehem was captured by the Crusaders, who fortified it and built a new monastery and cloister on the north side of the Church of the Nativity. On Christmas Day 1100 Baldwin I, first king of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, was crowned in Bethlehem, and that year a Latin episcopate was also established in the town.
In the 1160s the nave of the Church of the Nativity was redecorated with mosaics showing the councils of the church.
However, in 1187, Saladin captured Bethlehem from the Crusaders, and the Latin clerics were forced to leave. Bethlehem was briefly returned to Crusader control by treaty between 1229 and 1244.
Bethlehem under the Ottoman Empire
During the years of Ottoman control from 1517 on, custody of the Basilica was bitterly disputed between the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. In 1841, Bethlehem came under Ottoman rule once more, and so it remained until the end of the First World War and the imposition of the British Mandate of Palestine.
Twentieth century
In the 1947 resolution by the United Nations General Assembly to partition Palestine, Bethlehem was included in the special international enclave of Jerusalem to be administered by the United Nations. Many refugees from areas captured by Israeli forces in 1947 - 1948 came to Bethlehem, setting up encampments in the north of the city near the road to Jerusalem and on the hillside to the south between the city and Solomon's Pools. This influx of refugees changed the demography of Bethlehem considerably.
Jordan retained control of the city until 1967, when Bethlehem was captured by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank.
On December 21, 1995, Bethlehem became one of the areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority. It is capital of the Bethlehem district.
Recent events
Church of the Nativity Siege
With the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bethlehem has been the site of many confrontations.
Movement restrictions
Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala are currently surrounded by Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks, with the main road to Jerusalem cut off at the border of Jerusalem's municipal area - at Rachel's Tomb. Bethlehem residents are only allowed into Jerusalem (the main social, economic and religious centre of the region) with special permits that are usually refused. Since Bethlehem and the nearby biblical Solomon's Pools lie in Area A, Israeli citizens cannot go there without a permit from the Israeli military authorities.
West Bank barrier
The construction by Israel of the West Bank barrier has had a severely negative impact on Bethlehem;
Bethlehem Passport
The Bethlehem Passport was developed by Open Bethlehem in partnership with the city council and the governor of Bethlehem. Pope Benedict XVI became the first recipient of the Bethlehem Passport when he accepted the citizenship of Bethlehem from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in December 2005. The passport citation reads: In that the bearer of this passport is a citizen of Bethlehem; that they will remain a true friend to Bethlehem through its imprisonment, and that they will strive to keep the ideals of Bethlehem alive as long as the wall stands; we ask you to respect the bearer of the passport and to let them pass freely.
Demographic change
Bethlehem's former mayor, Hanna Nasser, says an estimated 2,000 Christians in Bethlehem have emigrated during the period of 2000 - 2003. Fifty years ago, Bethlehem was overwhelmingly Christian.
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