Reference: Bethlehem
Hastings
The name of two places in Palestine.
1. Bethlehem of Judah, otherwise Ephrath or Ephrathah, now represented by the town of Beit Lahm, 5 miles S. of Jerusalem. On the way thither Rachel was buried (Ge 35:19; 48:7). Hence came the two Levites whose adventures are related in Jg 17; 19. It was the home of Elimelech, the father-in-law of Ruth (Ru 1:1), and here Ruth settled with her second husband Boaz, and became the ancestress of the family of David, whose connexion with Bethlehem is emphasized throughout his history (1Sa 16:1-18; 17:12; 20:6 etc.). The Philistines had here a garrison during David's outlawry (2Sa 23:14; 1Ch 11:16). Here Asahel was huried (2Sa 2:32), and hence came Elhanan, one of the mighty men (2Sa 23:24; cf. 2Sa 21:19). Rehoboam fortified it (2Ch 11:6), and here the murderers of Gedaliah took refuge (Jer 41:17). Whether the Salma referred to in 1Ch 2:51,54 as 'father of Bethlehem' (whatever that expression may exactly mean) be the same as the Salmon who was father of Boaz (Ru 4:20)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, the same is Beth-lehem.
And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem; twelve cities with their villages.
And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel. And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons: and he judged Israel seven years. read more. Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Beth-lehem.
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to dwell in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
And the LORD said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul shall hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. read more. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint to me him whom I name to thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I have come to sacrifice to the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass when they had come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the hight of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he hath come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and also of a beautiful countenance, and a good appearance. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose, and went to Ramah. But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek a man who is a skillful player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou wilt be well. And Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skillful in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
If thy father shall at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me, that he might run to Beth-lehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulcher of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.
And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And David was then in a hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem.
Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem,
The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Menahethites, the Zorites.
And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou art little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go, and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)
And it came to pass, when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh from the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?