Bethlehem (Hebrew and Aramaic for “house of bread”), town in the West Bank, near Jerusalem, controlled since 1967 by Israel though administered since 1995 by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The town is specified in the Bible as the birthplace of both David (king of Judah and Israel) and Jesus Christ. Originally called Aphrath, the town is also referred to as Bethlehem-Judah to distinguish it from another Bethlehem (see Joshua 19:15-16) in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun.
Bethlehem is first mentioned in the Old Testament as the place where Rachel, the wife of the patriarch Jacob, was buried (see Genesis 35:19). According to the Book of Ruth, it later became the home of King David's ancestors and of David himself (see 1 Samuel 17:12). In the Book of Micah, Bethlehem is mentioned as the birthplace of the future Messiah (see Micah 5:2).
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