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Aaron Doman
Dr. Miller
REL 112
23 January 2015
Site Paper
Bethlehem is a town located in a territory east of Israel known as the West Bank . The
West Bank has been the center of a lot of controversy for quite some time, as different ethnic
groups have disputed over who actually owns this piece of land. After the Six Days War in
1967, Israel took control of the West Bank from Syria and allowed groups to begin to settle
there. (Bethlehem, Encyclopedia Britannica) Palestinians, however, believe that the territory is
theirs and that Israel has control over it illegally. Nonetheless, as of now Bethlehem resides
within this area of land, about five miles south of the city of Jerusalem. Located within the
Judean Hills, Bethlehem is a beautiful landscape with a great deal of biblical and archaeological
history. The site is about 2600 acres altogether, which converts to roughly 4.1 square miles.
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(Bethlehem, Encyclopedia Britannica) Located at an elevated peak, the highest point of the site
resides at about 790 m above sea level, on top of a watershed. As its location is amongst the
hills, it is difficult to get an approximate height as it varies throughout. The site contains 2
major occupational layers that been excavated by a number of different archaeologists over
quite a long period of time. (Stern 261)
Before getting to the actual archaeological history, the mentions of Bethlehem within
biblical text should be discussed. The first time Bethlehem is referenced in the Bible is at the
time of Rachel’s death. In this scripture, it says that Rachel passes away on her way to
“Ephrath.” (Stern 264) This term is another name used interchangeably with Bethlehem in
ancient times, as towns and cities were sometimes known by multiple names back then. The
most well-known biblical reference of Bethlehem is the nativity story. The birth of Jesus has
been disputed by many as to where it took place, but none can argue with the fact that in the
Bible it was said to have taken place in Bethlehem. Many have heard of the story of the
pregnant Mary traveling alongside her husband Joseph by camelback. She could not wait any
longer as it was time to have the child one starry night and they came into a small town . They
looked for a room at the inn but there were no vacancies and had to settle with staying the
night with the farm animals. As the story goes, Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothed and
laid in a manger after he was born. Many features have been added to the story that aren’t
actually in scripture such as the three wise men who traveled afar by following the North Star.
However, it is in scripture that this birth took place in Bethlehem . Another great biblical figure
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has been said to have been born here, being King David. (Stern 264) David is mentioned in the
Bible many of times from the famous killing of the giant Goliath to his reign as king as well as
being Solomon’s father. Knowing David’s close relationship with Bethlehem, Micah being a
great prophet and known from all over, had prophesied greatness for the small town. (Stern
264) During the reign of King Herod, the monarch had fortresses built at both Herodium and
Masada, cities near the town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem, being elevated by the Judean Hills,
was able to overlook these cities and thus became a city of great importance just as Micah had
predicted. (History of Bethlehem) Other biblical mentions include that Salma was the father of
Bethlehem and that the town was the northernmost of the twelve tribes of Judah. (Stern 264)
Who supposedly lived in Bethlehem during these biblical times? Well, since Bethlehem
was a tribe of Judah, it is safe to assume that those living in the town were ancestors of him .
Ancient Bethlehem consisted of many descendants of Caleb, he being the great grandson of
Judah. (Stern 264) Many Levites lived in Bethlehem as well. Levites were descendants of Levi,
brother of Judah. The family of Boaz inhabited the town as well, making it a decent sized
population but much smaller than most cities at the time. (Stern 264) Situated where it was,
there was no spring or apparent water source easily available to the town. This was a major
problem as any civilization needs water more than any other resource in order to survive.
During the days in which Pontius Pilate was governor, an aqueduct was built in Jerusalem.
Bethlehem would acquire water from Jerusalem and store it into citadels throughout the town .
(Bible Places)
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Excavations in Bethlehem began back in the early 1900s by a number of archaeologists .
The first prominent excavation was in 1926 by a group of Franciscans as they excavated next to
the Church of the Nativity. (Stern 266) Next, in 1934, an archaeologist by the name of Dorothea
Bate excavated within the area of the watershed, the highest peak of the site. The following
year she and fellow archaeologist Ernest Gardner teamed up to excavate the site . (Stern 266)
The two worked alongside each other from 1935-1937 on behalf of the Wellcome-Marston
Fund. Bethlehem was also excavated in 1940 by Moshe Stekelis, a well-known Russian
archaeologist. (Stern 266)
There have been a substantial number of important finds at the site of Bethlehem , none
as popular or intriguing than the Church of the Nativity. The church was first built by both
Constantine and his mother way back in the early 4h century. (Stern 268) From the outside of
the church, it doesn’t look like much with its bland exterior of meek stones. But once you take a
peek inside it is a beautiful place with murals upon the walls and mosaics on the first layer of
flooring. I say first layer because the church was added upon during the time of Justinian and
these mosaics were built on top of with another level of flooring. (Stern 268) During ancient
times, many early churches were destroyed and set on fire by Islamic. The Church of the
Nativity is one of the very few that remained intact and that are still there today. This has led
to a lot of speculation as to if it was the original place of Jesus’s birth, since the church has
remained all these years and it coincides with the nativity story. As we discussed in class, a
possible reason as to why the church was left unharmed may have been a portrait of the three
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wise men on the outside of the church. The three wise men of the story would of course have
been from the Middle East and that can explain why these Islamic people may have stopped
themselves from causing its destruction. In the biblical narrative of Jesus’s birth, there is a
verse speaking of shepherds watching over their flock by night . Just east of the town of
Bethlehem lies an area of fields with stone barriers that is said to be the actual spot referenced
in the Bible. It is said that many shepherds still use these fields to watch their sheep nowadays,
and many can be seen there on Christmas Eve as well. (Bible Places) However, there are a few
other shepherds’ fields making the same claim as to be the one referenced in the Bible, so it is
impossible to know for sure as we have no archaeological evidence to prove one location over
the other. In the nativity story, Jesus was in a stable full of animals when he was born, and put
into a manger. Back in ancient times, animals were kept in caves underground rather than
outdoor stables. Under the Church of the Nativity is the cave believed to be where Jesus was
born. Known as the birth cave, there is a small area where many go to see and to pray thought
to be the exact location of his birth. (Bible Places)
At first after doing my research I wasn’t truly convinced that this location was without a
doubt the one referenced throughout the scripture. Granted, there was a good amount of
finds; to me I wasn’t completely sure if it was the actual place. Until I came across an article
from 2012, I was finally convinced. Eli Shukron is an archaeologist that a few years ago was
excavating in Jerusalem, more specifically the City of David. There he found a bulla stone with
an inscription on it. Translated, the inscription read Bethlehem. (History of Bethlehem) Being
that the city in which it was found was only few miles away from the town of Bethlehem, it is
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difficult if not impossible to argue with Bethlehem being the true site. The bulla was dated
back to ancient times and fits the mold of when the town would’ve been occupied by the
descendants of Caleb, making it an incredible artifact. I do believe that this site is where many
of biblical figures were born and visited. Do I believe that Jesus Christ was born here? That is a
much more difficult question to answer for me. In the video we watched in class, Herschel
Shanks was interviewing trusted archaeologists as to their opinion on the matter. Some believe
that Jesus was born in Bethlehem as the description of the area matches up with the story.
However, others think that Jesus was born in Nazareth as he was known as “Jesus of Nazareth”
but never “Jesus of Bethlehem.” Archaeologists that argue this side say that it was Mary and
Joseph’s home and that he grew up there so of course it was where he was born. During the
time of Jesus’s birth, according to the Bible, there was a census taking place. In the scripture, it
says that Mary and Joseph were traveling, but some argue that if indeed a census was in effect,
everyone would have been asked to stay put until the counting was completed. Both sides
make valid points, and one opinion even believes that Jesus was said to have been born in
Bethlehem as a sort of symbol pointing to him as the Messiah because it was prophesied that
Bethlehem would be the place of birth. However, there is no substantial evidence to help lean
towards one side of this dispute and we may well never know in which town or city Christ was
born. If I were to be asked at this point, I am torn right in the middle of the two main
possibilities and would be unable to give an answer that I am completely confident in.
If asked if this site is the true Bethlehem however, there isn’t a doubt in my mind. A lot
of it has to do with what you believe and if you have faith. We’ve discussed in class about how
if you have faith you don’t need proof or artifacts to strengthen your belief. I was raised as a
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Christian and I do have faith in God. Whether or not Jesus was born in a certain town makes no
difference in my relationship with God and frankly archaeological evidence shouldn’t be used as
means to prove something that is meant to rely on faith.
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Works Cited
Biblical Archaeology. Society Staff. "History of Bethlehem Documented by First Temple Period
Bulla from the City of David." Biblical Archaeology Society. N.p., 23 May 2012. Web. 19
Jan. 2015.
Bethlehem." (BiblePlaces.com). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
Stern, Ephraim, Ayelet Leṿinzon-Gilboʻa, and J. Aviram. The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological
Excavations in the Holy Land. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society & Carta, 1993. Print.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Bethlehem | Town, West Bank." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.