Bethlehem

Three thousand years before the birth of Christ, Bethlehem was already known as a settlement.Canaanite tribes (including Jebusites,Hittites,Amarites and others) who settled in Palestine, built small cities surrounded by walls for protection against the attacks of raiders. One of these cities was Beit Lahama known today as Bethlehem. So, the word Bethlehem derives from Lahmo the Chaldean god of fertility, which was adopted by the Canaanites as Lahama. In accordance with the Canaanite practice of building temples to their gods, they built a temple for Lahama on the present mount of the Nativity which overlooked the fertile valleys of the region (The Shepherds ' Fields). Canaanite wells, ramparts and other structures on the Nativity mount and other sites in Bethlehem clearly establish its Canaanite origin 1000 years before the Hebrew period. The Philistines had a garrison stationed in Bethlehem because it was a strong strategic point. They entered the land of the Canaanites, mingled with its people and settled in the southern coasts between Jaffa and Gaza. The Philistines had achieved a military supremacy over the greater part of the country around 1200 B.C, and called it Palestine.

The name of Bethlehem itself suggests a pastoral and agricultural life. The tale of Ruth, the Moabite, and Boaz suggests an atmosphere of idyllic rusticity that is still obvious today. Ruth's grandson was King David of whose lineage Christ was born. A disagreement about the land between the Philistines and Israeli tribes caused numerous wars. David, who was born in Bethlehem, was driven with his tribe to the hills in the wilderness, where their adventures became the theme of various epic tales. One of these tales contains an allusion to the topography of Bethlehem: "One summer's day David longed, and said, Oh that one -would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem.

The narrative of the Old Testament mentions Bethlehem in the first book of the Bible when Jacob, son of Abraham, and his family were journeying to the city of Hebron passing by Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16). There, his wife Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, and he buried her by the side of the Bethlehem Road where her tomb has been a shrine to this day. In that time, Bethlehem was a small walled town erected on a hill in the northern part of the present town of Bethlehem as suggested by the reference in the story of David's well.

Greeks occupied Palestine for more than a century and remained until the arrival of the Romans in 160 BC The story of the town through this period is singularly and happily uneventful. The reason for this is partly geographical. The town lies just off the great road that in antiquity carried merchandise and travelers to and from Syria and the Red Sea. A decree of Caesar Augustus, which commanded the taking of a census in all the provinces of the Roman Empire, brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Micah, spoken 750 years before. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine was included in the imperial province of Syria. The construction of Herod's palace, Herodium, in the 1st century B.C. must have brought the path through Bethlehem into more frequent use. St. Luke's mention of an inn at Bethlehem during Herod's reign fits well enough in the picture. There was also the dramatic slaughter of the Innocents by Herod who earlier instructed everyone to report where the Baby Jesus was to be found. However, when he realized that he had been deceived by the Wise Men, he became furious and ordered the massacre of all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and its environs. (Mtt. 2.16).

Bethlehem And The Moslems

 In 1250, the Ayyubid Dynasty was replaced in Egypt by Circassian Mamlukes, and the accession of the fanatical Sultan RuknedDin Beibars brought an end to the tradition of tolerance that helped safeguard the Holy places. In 1263, Beibars ordered the dismantling of the towers and walls of Bethlehem. The church itself was not damaged but Christians were banished from Bethlehem.

With the Turkish occupation in 1517, the period of conflict between the Franciscans and the Greeks for the possession of the Sanctuaries began. Consequently, the Basilica passed from the Franciscans to the Greeks according to the favor enjoyed at the Sublime Porte (Ottoman Caliph) by the nation which supported the communities (Catholics or Orthodox). the Nativity and Bethlehem suffered from bitter and bloody struggles between the Catholics and Orthodox for hegemony in the Nativity church. However, between the 17th and 18th centuries Bethlehem was on the verge of modern times. Long and continuous contact by the local people with travelers from western Christendom had familiarized them with the manners and tastes of western countries, and improved their economic condition. The sale of Olive Wood and Mother-of-Pearl had become the means of livelihood for a substantial section of the population.

Bethlehem This Century

The Balfour Declaration was issued by Great Britain in 1917 giving the Jews the right to a national home in Palestine provided that the rights of the original people of the country were respected. In 1918, Palestine was placed under the British Mandate. Wars between the Arabs and Jews continued and the latter occupied most of Palestine and declared their state Israel. The town of Bethlehem remained unoccupied and towards the end of 1948, the union of the eastern part of Palestine and Trans-Jordan was declared under the name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

A second war between the Arabs and Israelis broke out in 1967, and the latter occupied the remainder of Palestine including Bethlehem. The Palestinian Intifada or popular uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip began on December 8, 1987 with the ultimate goal, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state under the leadership of the PLO, to be arrived at through negotiation in an international peace conference. Bethlehem remained under the Israeli occupation until December 22, 1995 when the Palestinian Authority took over in compliance with the Oslo Accord of 1993. The process of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East is openning a new era in Bethlehem's long history. Economically, the peace process is creating numerous opportunities for investors and new industries. Tourism in particular is likely to develop into an even more important mainstay of the local economy, for the dawn of the new Millenium is bound to draw large numbers of visitors to this historic city.