Bethlehem

[Nooj]

At the time of Jesus' birth (concurrent with Herod roughly) do we know what Bethlehem was like? I've heard that it was a small village.

 

[GodsGirlSajida]

I've heard it was more akin to a small town -not a village. I will look for a few reference points

 

[murjahel]

It was a small village,
at the top of a hill,
on the edge of the desert...​

so... that hill made the air currents rise,
and in the cooler temperatures at that height,
they dropped whatever moisture they had...​

it had therefore enough moisture to provide
good pasture for sheep...
and a few vineyards...​

Herod had built a summer palace at the back side
of the village, and his windows overlooked the town
of Bethlehem...​

The sheep of the city were the ones used
in the sacrifices at the temple,
the shepherds of the town were young,
in-training priests...​

at the foot of the hill, was supposed to be
Rachel's tomb...
its location in that day was known...​

David's tomb was hidden somewhere near by,
but it as yet, has not been found...​

the 'stables' in which Jesus was born,
was a wooden frame, with stones and dirt
piled up around that wooden frame,
and it made it look somewhat cave like...
that cave like structure kept the inside
insulated from the winter cold, and summer heat...​

there was one well for the village,
and it was just outside the village...
used by the shepherds for their sheep,
and the village for their drinking water...​

that would mean that the shepherds would keep
the flock at night near to the village,
so as to be near the needed water supply...​

the location of the village is about five miles
from Jerusalem...​

 

[mercutio1562]

interesting comments.

 

[JohnStevenson]

At the time of Jesus' birth (concurrent with Herod roughly) do we know what Bethlehem was like? I've heard that it was a small village.

Yes, it would have been a small town on the slopes of a rather large hill. At the same time, it is only a mile or two away from the Herodium, the foretress/palace of Herod. I was in Bethlehem last year and could see the Herodium from the town (there is a photo at my website).

 

[Pilgrimer]

At the time of Jesus' birth (concurrent with Herod roughly) do we know what Bethlehem was like? I've heard that it was a small village.

Below is a photo taken of Bethlehem c. early 1900. It is believed that the cluster of ruins to the right side of the photo was the ancient village which was abandoned after the Roman war and the village was eventually rebuilt on the southeastern tip of the ridge (to the left of the ruins).

This photo has particular archaelogical interest because of what appears to be the ruins of a tower which affords the shepherd a view of the valley which has traditionally been identified as the "Shepherd's Field," where the Temple flock was kept, the flocks of sheep and other animals that were intended for sacrifice in Jerusalem, five miles north of Bethlehem. It is important to realize that during the time of Jesus, there were thousands of animals sacrificed at Jerusalem every year, and Josephus records that as many as a quarter million lambs were offered each Passover alone. Animals for the temple cultus was the primary import commodity of 1st century Israel. The "shepherds field" was actually more of a stockyard type operation than it was a typical sheepfold and would require consierable space for so many animals to be kept until they could be inspected by specially trained priests for any signs of a blemish, a wound, sore, scar, disfigurement, or any signs of infestation such as lice, worms, or nits that would disqualify the animal from sacrificial use.

But what is also important is that textual evidence indicates that at one time there was a royal castle at Bethlehem, the ancestral home of King David. By the time of Jesus the ancient castle was already a ruin, but other textual evidence indicates that one of the ancient watchtowers of the castle had been maintained and was used by the shepherds as a watchtower for the Temple flock as it afforded a clear view out over the broad, flat valley east of Bethlehem that is historically identified as the "shepherd's field."

This is of special interest because Rabbinic tradition interprets the passage in Micah (4:8) about the "Migdal Eder" (Watchtower of the flock) as being the place from which the coming of the kingdom would be announced. The photo shows what appears to be the foundation of an ancient watchtower overlooking the valley.

In the past century however, and particularly the past half century, tourism has caused the once quaint village of Bethlehem to grow into a small city, and with that expansion many ancient ruins were demolished and the stones used for new building projects. The hill from which the above photo was taken and where this ruin was located is now fully developed and there is no aerial sign of any ancient ruins left. The area is now covered by new construction. Many valuable ruins have been lost in recent decades, victims to urban sprawl.

Below is a photo of Bethlehem as it appears today, covering a much larger area than it did even 100 years ago.

You can see that the hill from which the photo was taken is now developed and covered with new construction. The valley where the Shepherd's Field was located was also the valley where Boaz met Ruth when she was gleaning his fields, and also where David once watched over his father's sheep. The village of Bethlehem was a strategic location in that the main road leading from Palestine to Egypt passed by Bethlehem, and an ancient caravansary was located somewhere on the main road. It is believed that this was the "inn" at which Joseph inquired for lodging but it was full so they were shown to a series of caves at what was once the edge of the village which is today marked by the Church of the Nativity.

It is estimated that at the time of Jesus Bethlehem was still a village even though an important one in that it was the location where all the animals intended for sacrifice were kept until needed and then driven the five miles up to Jerusalem.

Lying half way between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was a large royal palace complex that dates back to the days of Hezekiah that was still in use in the time of Jesus but was completely destroyed by the Romans during the war, along with many other historic and politically important sites throughout the Holy Land.

Hope this might provide you some idea as to the historical character of the birthplace of Jesus.

In Christ,
Pilgrimer

 

[dana b]

 

[Pilgrimer]

I have to take issue with the statement that "King Herod was from the tribe of Judah." King Herod was an Idumean, from the land of Idumea just south of Judaea which had been conquered under the Maccabees and the Idumeans forced to convert to Judaism. He was appointed king of Israel by Rome but was resented by the Jewish people because he was not a Jew and was considered a usurper.

The Idumeans were descendants of Esau.

In Christ,
Pilgrimer

 

[dana b]

I have to take issue with the statement that "King Herod was from the tribe of Judah." King Herod was an Idumean, from the land of Idumea just south of Judaea which had been conquered under the Maccabees and the Idumeans forced to convert to Judaism. He was appointed king of Israel by Rome but was resented by the Jewish people because he was not a Jew and was considered a usurper.

The Idumeans were descendants of Esau.

In Christ,
Pilgrimer

Why did he try to hunt down Jesus then, if he was not directly concerned with safeguarding the "sceptre" for the tribe of Judah. Everybody knew the prophesy;

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,......until Shiloh come." Gen.49;10

Wasn't King Herod expecting Christ to be "Shiloh," so he was very concerned about being able to continue holding power? Matt.2;3

 

[pshun2404]

Wasn't King Herod expecting Christ to be "Shiloh," so he was very concerned about being able to continue holding power? Matt.2;3


Yes, and He was and His rest is glorious and the nations flow unto Him.

Paul

 

[grandma dolittle]

Why did he try to hunt down Jesus then, if he was not directly concerned with safeguarding the "sceptre" for the tribe of Judah. Everybody knew the prophesy;

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,......until Shiloh come." Gen.49;10

Wasn't King Herod expecting Christ to be "Shiloh," so he was very concerned about being able to continue holding power? Matt.2;3

Herod didn't give a rip about Judah or it's people. He was concerned only about himself. He had his wife he loved killed and she was innocent of conspiring against him. He killed a grandson, and two sons. Why would he care about the people of Judah??? He didn't. In fact, he knew he was hated and no one would mourn him so he had 200 leading men of Judah arrested and gave orders that when he died, these men were to be killed too. He was going to make sure Judah mourned when he died!

He was trying to keep the sceptre for himself... no other reason.

 

[grandma dolittle]

The reason that Ruben, Israel's firstborn was not given the mantle is he lay with his father's wife, Biliah. She may have been Rachel's slave, but she bacame Israel's wife.

 

[pshun2404]

Also, Herod was an Edomite.

Paul

 

[grandma dolittle]

Also, Herod was an Edomite.

Paul

You are correct.

 

[Daveano]

to the photo that was shown above ,i would say Bethlehem was a village

 

[loralo]

If you want to know what Bethlehem looks like then and now there is a very good source to see this, both in maps and representations - in art too - and with actually very interesting descriptions, especially at the time of Jesus. I have found the Carta-Jerusalem.com site to be informative in this aspect.