West Bank Bethlehem Part of Palestine History
From Early Canaanite Settlement to the Arrival of Saladin in 1187
Dec 8, 2008
Despite its proximity to the Israeli capital, Bethlehem today falls within the boundaries of the West Bank Palestinian Territories and as such under Palestinian Authority control
West Bank Bethlehem
However the town, in Hebrew Bet Lehem, in Arabic Beit Lahm, has a long history. It was first settled by the Canaanites c 3000 BCE and is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, King David and home to one of the earliest Christian churches – the Church of the Nativity.
Amarna Letters
Bethlehem is mentioned in one of the Amarna letters, a collection of cuneiform tablets from the Egyptian New Kingdom dating from the 14th century BCE. In a communication from the Egyptian Governor of Palestine he tells Pharaoh Amenhotep III that a town called Bit llu Lahama, thought to be Bethlehem, had fallen to the Kharibus (Hebrews).
The name Bethlehem is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. In Genesis 35:19, in connection with Rachel, matriarch of the Jewish people and wife of Jacob. “When Rachel died, she was buried beside the road to Ephrath, now known as Bethlehem.” It’s also mentioned in much of the Book of Ruth.
Mathew 2:16, tells us of Roman vassal Herod the Great who reigned as King of Judea between 37-4 BCE when in his search for the baby Jesus he gave orders to “kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old and younger.”
Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity originally built, in the 4th century over the spot where Mary gave birth to Jesus, by Helena mother of Byzantine Emperor Constantine, is today controlled by three Christian denominations: Armenian Church, Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
It was subsequently destroyed during the Samartian uprising in 529 CE but then rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I with the Crusaders adding to it during their occupation of the town.
Bethlehem’s turbulent history over the centuries has meant it frequently changed hands. Philistines, Persians, Romans, Egyptians Babylonians and Greeks to name but a few have come and gone.
Bar Cochba Revolt
During the Bar Cochba revolt, 132–135 CE, in the last of the Jewish-Roman wars in Palestine, Hadrian’s legions occupied Bethlehem after expelling all the Jewish residents.
In 1099 the armies of the First Crusade conquered Bethlehem and their leader Baldwin I was crowned Latin King of Jerusalem on Christmas day in 1100. It returned to Muslim hands in 1187, when Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, defeated and forced out the Crusaders.
Sources:
Good News Bible
Bethlehem University website
BBC
Guardian Newspaper
Jewish Virtual Library
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