Judea – the Land Promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Posted on August 16, 2019March 11, 2024 by K.B. Vogelman

Canaan, Palestine, Judaea, Judea, the land of Abraham – all refer to the same place today known as Israel.^[1] Judea’s 2000-year history preceding the era of Jesus of Nazareth began with Abram who was ironically born in the land of Babylon in present day Iran, a mortal enemy of Israel.^[2]

Young Abram married Sarai in Ur of the Chaldees. His father, Terah, then moved his family to Haran in the land of Canaan.^[3] One day God appeared to Abram telling him to move his own family to another place that God would show him promising:^[4]

^{Gen. 12:2} “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”_(NIV)

Abram and Sarai, along with nephew Lot and his family, eventually resettled near Salem. One day, an enemy raiding party captured Lot, his family and their possessions whereupon Abram took up arms and set out on a rescue mission.^[6]

Victorious in battle and rescuing Lot’s family and possessions, Abram returned home to a hero’s welcome greeted by Melchizedek, priest and King of Salem. He blessed Abram in the name of the most high God, creator of the heavens and earth.^[7] Soon thereafter, God promised Abram’s descendants would inherit the land although after first being enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years.^[8]

Thirteen years later at the age of 99, God blessed Abram changing his name to Abraham; his wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah; promised them a son to be named Isaac; and reaffirmed His promise that Canaan would be a permanent possession.^[9]

^{Gen. 17:8} “I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing to you and your descendants after you as a permanent possession. I will be their God._(NET)

Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah, was blessed by God changing his name to Israel and promised that his descendants would produce an assembly of nations and kings. The sons of Israel became the fathers of the tribes of Israel.^[10]

Just before Jacob died, he blessed each son. To Judah, he specifically passed on the blessing of his grandfather Abraham foretelling Judah would become the father of the tribe of royalty.^[11]

Events took a major detour as prophesied before God’s promise to Abraham was to be fulfilled. Jacob had a favorite son, Joseph, causing jealousy among his brothers.^[12] They ambushed Joseph and sold him as a slave to a passing caravan bound for Egypt, then lied to their father saying the boy had been killed by a wild animal.^[13]

Many years later during a famine in Canaan, Jacob resorted to seeking food from Egypt and eventually discovered that not only was Joseph alive, he was second in power only to Pharaoh himself!^[14] Under the protection of Joseph, all the sons of Israel left the land of Abraham and moved to Egypt where, over the next 400 years, they became slaves of the ruling Pharaohs.^[15]

Moses was then called by God from a burning bush at the base of Mt. Sinai to lead the Hebrews on the Exodus out of Egypt. Back at Mt. Sinai after the exodus from Egypt, God gave the Law to Moses which included five big promises, all tied to God’s plans for the place in the land promised to Abraham:^[16]

^{EX 23:20} “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you as you journey and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.”_(NET)

^{EX 33:1-2} “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’” _{(NASB, NKJV)}

Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had borders that were spelled out spanning from the southern tip of

the Dead Sea,

to the Negev Desert,

to the Mediterranean Sea,

to the headwaters of the Jordan River,

and the River to the Dead Sea.^[17]

Poised to return to the land of Abraham, the waters of the Jordan River were miraculously parted allowing the Hebrews to cross on dry ground.^[18] Inhabitants were certainly not willing to give up their land to the Hebrews – military force was required.

As part of their conquests in the land of Abraham, the new Hebrew King David battled the inhabitants of Jebus, formerly known as Salem. Once David established his throne in the City of David, the city became known as Jerusalem encompassing Mt. Zion and Mt. Moriah where the Temple would eventually be built.^[19]

Over the next several centuries, David’s kingdom of Israel degraded when successive kings and the Hebrews did not abide by their agreement with God’s covenant presented by Moses at Mt. Sinai. The covenant, a type of contract, had a penalty clause which was enacted by God.

Split into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians. Judah was conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and taken away captive to Babylon.

Persia vanquished Babylon while the Hebrews were still in captivity providing the opportunity for the Hebrew wise man, Daniel, to serve kings in both Empires.^[20] Under decrees by Persian Kings Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, the Hebrews were allowed to return to the land of Judah and rebuild Jerusalem.^[21]

Conquests of Alexander the Great expanding the Greek Empire included the land now called “Palestine.”^[22] In 333 BC, Alexander’s army was met outside of Jerusalem by the Jewish High Priest Shimon HaTzaddik in a successful attempt to prevent the army’s destruction of the Jewish Temple.^[23]

Jerusalem was spared and the Jews viewed Alexander as their liberators, in part, because Hellenism under the new Greek Empire allowed them religious freedom. In fact, Greek eventually became the common language in Palestine.^[24]

On the stage of history, the Greek Empire was replaced by the Roman Empire and Palestine picked up a new name, Judea. Caesar Augustus and the senate allowed Judea, with Jerusalem as its capital, to be ruled by a new ruthless king named Herod.^[25]

During the reign of King Herod, Jesus of Nazareth of the lineage of Abraham, Judah and King David, was born in Bethlehem. He traveled throughout Judea and Samaria teaching and healing until one day during the Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus was captured, tried and crucified.

Was it merely a coincidence that over the course of 2000 years, the geographic land promised by God to Abraham remained essentially unchanged and the same city, known as Salem, Jebus then Jerusalem, remained at the center of this land until Jesus of Nazareth arrived on the scene?

November 4, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] “Palestine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2019. <https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine> Niese. B., ed. Flavii Iosephi opera. 1892. J. Book 5, Section 117 [AJ 5.1], footnote 1. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0146:book=5:section=1&highlight=palestine> Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book 20, Chapter 11.2.<https://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=Palestine&f=false>
[2] Genesis 11:31,12:1-4; 13:12-17; 15:7. “Historical Timeline.” The Biblical Zionist. BiblicalZionist.com. 2009. <http://www.biblicalzionist.com/timeline.htm> Uittenbogaard, Arie “Salem meaning | Salem etymology.” Abarim Publications. n.d. <http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Salem.html#.U5SQqCjyTih> Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book VI, Chapter X. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> “Ur of the Chaldees.” Penn Museum. n.d. project. <https://www.penn.museum/sites/ur> Wooley, Leonard. “Ur of the Chaldees: a record of seven years of excavation.” Internet Archives. video. 1952. <https://archive.org/details/urofchaldeesreco00wool>
[3] Genesis 11:27-31.
[4] Genesis 12:1.
[6] Genesis 14:11-16.
[7] Genesis 14:18-20.
[8] Genesis 15.
[9] Genesis 31:1 CR. Quran. Pickthall translation. Surah 21:72. <http://www.islam101.com/quran/QTP/index.htm>
[10] Genesis 35:9-13. CR. Quran. Trans. Abdullah Yusuf Ali. 40 references to “Children of Israel.” <http://search-the-quran.com/search/Children%20of%20Israel>
[11] Genesis 49:8-10.
[12] Genesis 37:3-4; 18-28.
[13] Genesis 37:18-28.
[14] Genesis 42-46.
[15] Exodus 12:40.
[16] Exodus 19:1. Ryrie. Charles C., ed. Ryrie Study Bible. New American Standard Trans. 1978. “Laws relating to conquests, [Ex] 23:20-33.” [xvii] Joshua 15. Mark, Joshua. “Canaan.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. 2018. <https://www.ancient.eu/canaan> “Canaan.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2019. <https://www.britannica.com/place/Canaan-historical-region-Middle-East> Jarus, Owen. “Who Were the Canaanites?” LiveScience. 2016. <https://www.livescience.com/56016-canaanites.html>
[17] Joshua 15. Giamberini, Mariasilvia; Provenzale, Antonello. “Negev Desert.” EGU Blogs. Photo. 2018. <https://blogs.egu.eu/geolog/tag/negev-desert> Turnage, Marc. CBN Israel. “Biblical Israel: Dead Sea.” Photo. 2021. <https://cbnisrael.org/2021/04/06/biblical-israel-dead-sea> Amir, Rebecca Stadlen. Israel21c. “10 spectacular photos of sunsets in Israel.” photo. <https://www.israel21c.org/10-spectacular-photos-of-sunsets-in-israel> “Nahariya Beaches – Northern Israel.” Visions of Travel. photo. 2020. <https://www.visionsoftravel.org/nahariya-beaches-northern-israel> “Israel, The Jordan River Near Tel Dan.” Sonia Halliday Photo Library. photo. 2010. <http://www.soniahalliday.com/category-view3.php?pri=IS19A-13-21.jpg> “The Jordan River.” Good Shepherd Travels. photo. n.d. <https://www.tourtheholylands.com/holy-land-tour-locations/holy-land-tours/the-jordan-river-7-stories-of-feet-and-an-ax-head> Last accessed 7 Sept. 2022.
[18] Joshua 3:9-17.
[19] Samuel 5:6-9; I Chronicles 11:4-8; 2 Chronicles 3:1;
[20] Ezekiel 1:2-3.
[21] Ezekiel 6:7, 12; 7:12-13, 23, 26. Josephus. Antiquities. Book XI, Chapter V.1.
[22] “Palestine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Maier, Paul L. The New Complete Works of Josephus. Trans. William Whiston. 1999. p 385. <http://books.google.com/books?id=kyaoIb6k2ccC&lpg=PP1&dq=the%20complete%20works%20of%20josephus&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false> Herodotus. The Histories. 440 BC. English Trans. A. D. Godley, Ed. 1920. Book 7, Chapter 89.<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D89> “From Alexander the Great to ad 70 Hellenistic Greece.” Washington State University. 6 June 1999. Archived URL. Archive.org. 4 Jan. 2011. <http://web.archive.org/web/20110104072822/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALEX.HTM>
[23] “Palestine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2014. Spiro, Ken. “History Crash Course #27: The Greek Empire.” Aish.com. 2001. <http://www.aish.com/jl/h/cc/48939587.html> Hooker, Richard. “Hellenistic Greece: Alexander the Great.” Washington State University. 1999. <http://web.archive.org/web/20110104072822/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALEX.HTM>
[24] “Hellenism.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7535-hellenism> Josephus. Antiquities. Book XII, Chapter II.1.
[25] Maier. The New Complete Works of Josephus. p 491. “Actium (31BCE).” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2019. <https://www.livius.org/articles/battle/actium-31-bce/> Josephus. Antiquities. Book XV, Chapters V-VI; Book XVII, Chapter VIII.1. “Herod the Great.” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. <http://www.livius.org/articles/person/herod-the-great/?> Villalba i Varneda, Pere. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. p 14. <http://books.google.com/books?id=kdUUAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=2ek7SgCy2c&dq=josephus%2C%20battle%20of%20actium%2C%20herod&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=josephus,%20battle%20of%20actium,%20herod&f=false>

Mount Moriah – the Connection

Posted on March 30, 2018December 21, 2023 by K.B. Vogelman

Mount Moriah – the Connection

Mount Moriah is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis going back to the days of Abraham when it first gained importance as a sacred site.^[1] Set-up by way of the place, the mount has a direct connection to the Messiah.

By birth a Chaldean, Abraham followed God’s instruction to leave for an unknown land with a blessing that his name would be great, the father of a great nation in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.^[2] Abraham eventually settled in Canaan at Hebron about 20 miles south of the mounts of Moriah and Salem, the city one day to be called Jerusalem.^[3]

God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to offer Isaac, his only son with his wife Sarah, as a sacrifice in “the land of Moriah…on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”^[4] Human sacrifices were not uncommon in that era, such as to the pagan gods Baal and Moloch.^[5]

Faithfully Abraham built an altar on God’s chosen Moriah mount and was in the act of offering Isaac as a sacrifice when an “angel of the Lord” stopped him. A ram stuck in a thicket became a substitute sacrifice. Known as “The Binding of Isaac” in Jewish tradition, the story in Genesis is read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.^[6]

Moriah means “chosen by Jehovah” albeit Abraham was so moved by the experience with his only son, he called this particular Mount of Moriah, hwhy har or Y@hovah ra’ah meaning “the LORD will Provide.”^[7] Some Bibles translate the Hebrew name it as Jehovahjireh.

“The Lord will choose and see for Himself this place, to cause His Divine Presence to rest therein and for offering sacrifices here…that [future] generations will say about it, ‘On this mountain, the Holy One, blessed be He, appears to His people.’” – Rabbi Rashi ^[8]

Several hundred years later, soon after the Exodus from Egypt, the Hebrew nation encamped at Mount Sinai. God handed down the Law to Moses which included prophetic promises about the place hinting that the land of Moriah was part of God’s future master plan.

One promise was that God would lead Israel to the land He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In two promises, God promised He would provide a permanent place for His Name to dwell and to observe the Passover.^[9]

In the land of Abraham, King David established his throne in the city of Jerusalem encompassing Mount Moriah. A most unusual set of circumstances brought the Mount to center stage.^[10]

King David angered God due to his lack of faith by conducting a census leading to a severe judgement on his kingdom of Israel. Taking responsibility, David pleaded with God to stop the judgement on the people because it was his own sin, not theirs. The angel executing and halting the judgment because visible to the King.

Through the prophet Gad, God instructed David to offer an atonement sacrifice for the people of Israel.^[11] Preparing for the sacrifice, David bought the threshing floor of Araunah (Ornan) located on Mount Moriah.^[12] David personally purchased the entire threshing floor, its oxen and its equipment.^[13]

On Mount Moriah David built the altar, slew the oxen for the offering and used the wood from the threshing floor implements as fuel for the altar’s fire. Then something miraculous happened – fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice.^[14] Deeply affected, David proclaimed:

^{I Ch. 22:1} “This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.”_(NET)

God informed David that his son would build the House of God, not him.^[15] After David’s death, in the fourth year of King Solomon’s reign, the building of the Temple commenced on Mount Moriah:

^{2 CH 3:1} Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. _(NASB)

Seven years later the Temple was completed under Solomon’s reign.^[16] To commemorate the occasion, the King held a public consecration and blessing acknowledging the fulfillment of God’s promises:

^{2 CH 6:2, 4} “I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever.” …“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,

^{2 CH 6:5-6} “‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there; and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’_(NKJV)

In spectacular fashion, that day on Mount Moriah God once again sent fire down from heaven to consume the first sacrifices offered at the new Temple. The celebration continued for seven days and with the completion of the Temple, it became the place to permanently offer the Passover sacrifices:^[17]

^{DT 16:2} “You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to establish His name…”

^{DT 16:5-6} …You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you; but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover…”_(NASB)

A thousand years later on the sacred Mount Moriah in the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth stood on trial before the Priests and Scribes of the Temple, the House of God, and declared himself to be the Son of God. Perceived as a blasphemy, it triggered a string of events in the following hours leading to the crucifixion of Jesus on the first day of the Passover.

United States Federal legal definition of the Doctrine of Chances is the premise for the obvious question: What is the probability of chance that the location, the timing, and the circumstances of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth were all an accident?

Updated December 21, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] “Abraham.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2018. <https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/abraham>
[2] Genesis 12.
[3] Genesis 11-15. “Hebron.” Bible-History.com. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/hebron.html>
[4] NRSV.
[5] Genesis 22. Quote – all mainstream Christian and Jewish Bible translations. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book I, Chapter XIII. The Complete Works of Josephus. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[6] Genesis 22. “The Binding of Isaac.” My Jewish Learning. 2018. <https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-binding-of-isaac> “The Great Test: The Binding of Isaac.” Chabad.org. 2018. <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246616/jewish/The-Great-Test-The-Binding-of-Isaac.htm> “Human Sacrifices.” Bible-history.com. n.d. <http://www.bible-history.com/backd2/human_sacrifice.html> Hefner, Alan G. “Baal.” Encyclopedia Mythica. 2004. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal.html> “Sacrifice.” Jewish Encyclopedia.
[7] Net.bible.org. Genesis 22:2, Hebrew text Mowriyah <04179>; Genesis 22:14, Hebrew text “ra’ah <07200>;” Y@hovah <03068>;” “Y@hovah yireh <03070>”
[8] Rashi, Shlomo Yitzchaki. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. Bereishit – Genesis 22:14 commentary. <https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8217#showrashi=true>
[9] I Chronicles 17.
[10] I Chronicles 17; 2 Samuel 5, 7. Josephus. Antiquities. Book VII, Chapter III.
[11] II Chronicles 3.
[12] I Chronicles 21; 2 Chronicles 3; 2 Samuel 24. Josephus. Antiquities. Book VII, Chapter III. “Herod’s Temple.” Bible-History.com. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/jewishtemple/JEWISH_TEMPLEThe_Site.htm>
[13] I Chronicles 21; 2 Samuel 24.
[14] 2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21.
[15] I Chronicles 22, 28.
[16] 1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3. Wiemers, Galyn. Generation Word. “Chapter 21 – Solomon’s Temple Mount.” image. 2018. <https://www.generationword.com/devotions/photos-diagrams/diagrams/oct-digrams/29a-solomons-temple-mount-retaining-wall-2500-jpg.jpg>
[17] CR Leviticus 9.

Bethlehem – An Amazing Small Town Story

Posted on August 31, 2017December 21, 2023 by K.B. Vogelman

Bethlehem – An Amazing Small Town Story

Bethlehem had already been a town for millennia by the time Judea became a province of Rome. In many ways today’s city is no different today than it was while under Roman rule:

“…Bethlehem, today as it was 2,000 years ago, grottoes are used as livestock pens. Mangers are carved out of rock. Here, in the bulls-eye of this volatile place, ringed by Jewish settlements, imprisoned within a wall, encircled by refugee camps, hidden amid a forest of minarets, tucked below the floor of an ancient church, is a silver star. This, it’s believed, is where Jesus was born.” – National Geographic ^[1]

“House of bread” or “the dwelling of bread” is the meaning of Bethlehem while Ephrathah is a district much like a county meaning “fruitful.”^[2] Practically a suburb of Jerusalem, the city is located just 5 miles to the south.^[3]

Jacob’s wife, Rachel, died near Bethlehem while giving birth to Benjamin, Israel’s (Jacob) 12^th son and was buried just outside of the town some 2500 before the lifetime of Jesus of Nazareth. Today her tomb is a revered religious site of both Jews and Muslims.^[4]

One of the oldest cities in the world, Bethlehem should be as anonymous as are nearly all the other small Judean towns of ancient Palestine. A string of connected events over hundreds of years that would not allow the hamlet to be forgotten.

Becoming famous, the town is the location for three major occurrences. It became known as the home town of the King David of Israel; the place of the Hebrew redemption story; and the town where Jesus of Nazareth was born.

Seven generations removed from Jacob through his son, Judah, was born Boaz of Bethlehem, famous in Hebrew lore for his story of redemption, a ga’al or “goel.” Another Bethlehem resident, Naomi, and her Gentile Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, are part of the story.^[5]

Hebrew law allowed Boaz to redeem Naomi’s inheritance lost through a series of family deaths by marrying Ruth…if the first successor relative declined to marry her.^[6] Declining the offer, Boaz wed Ruth wed thereby redeeming Naomi’s inheritance and had a son named Obed, father of Jesse who appears in two messiah prophecies by the Isaiah.^[7]

Samuel, the prophet, was sent by God to Jesse’s house in Bethlehem. His mission: to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the king-in-waiting to replace King Saul who had been rejected God.^[8]

Surprising everyone, Jesse’s youngest son, the shepherd boy named David, was anointed as God’s choice to be the next king of Israel. The soon-to-be giant-slayer went on to become the most iconic king in the nation’s history.

Six Branch prophecies were issued by three prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah. These Branch prophecies would foretell the future Messiah would come from House of David.^[9]

Generations after David’s reign, the prophet Micah would again shine the spotlight on Bethlehem Ephrathah prophesying the future Messiah of the tribe of Judah would come from that little town of Bethlehem. Translations of the Micah prophecy in Greek and Jewish Bibles are in agreement with the English translations…

^{Micah 5:1 (5:2)} “And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah-you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah-from you [he] shall emerge for Me, to be a ruler over Israel; and his origin is from of old, from days of yore.” – Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary

Revered Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi commented on the prophecy. His phrase-by-phrase breakdown defines Bethlehem Ephrathah and identifies who would emerge from the town:

“And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah”: [Rashi:] whence David emanated, as it is stated (I Sam. 17:58): “The son of your bondsman, Jesse the Bethlehemite.” And Bethlehem is called Ephrath, as it is said (Gen. 48:7): “On the road to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem.”

“from you shall emerge for Me”: [Rashi:] the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): “The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.”

“and his origin is from of old”: [Rashi:] “Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Ps. 72:17)

Talmud Sanhedrin 98b identifies Yinnon along with Shiloh and other names for the Messiah who would come from the House of David. Rabbi Johanan in the Gemara quotes from the Isaiah 52-53 parashah considered by many to be a Messiah prophecy.^[10]

About a 1000 years after the House of David was established, Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem under bizarre, unforeseen circumstances. His parents, Mary and Joseph, were compelled by a decree of Roman Caesar Augustus to travel 90 miles by foot or donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem just days before his mother was to give birth.

On the night of the birth of Jesus, shepherds heralded by angels came to see the baby. Telling of Jesus being born in a stable, Luke’s Nativity adds he was laid in a manger for his crib.

Days later, Matthew‘s Nativity describes Magi, who came from another country after seeing “His star,” set out on a quest to find the baby. The Magi wanted to worship Jesus while unwittingly drawing the ire of King Herod who actually wanted to kill Jesus.

Murder of baby boys 2 years old and younger was ordered by King Herod when the Magi didn’t return with information where to find Jesus. The notorious incident is known as the Massacre of the Innocents and is honored on the 28th of December by the Feast of the Holy Innocents.^[11]

Today, some 2000 years later, the famed little town of Bethlehem is now the backdrop for the Christmas Nativity scene detailed by Gospels Luke and Matthew. Christmas stories over the centuries have condensed the Nativity scene to one night.

Bethlehem, an unbelievable small town story with a legacy going back three millennia.

Was the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem an improbable coincidence or a fulfillment of prophecy?

Updated December 21, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Finkel, Michael. National Geographic. “Bethlehem 2007 A.D.”, p.65. December, 2007. Skaballanovich, Michael. Orthodox Christianity. image. n.d. http://www.pravoslavie.ru/sas/image/102817/281720.b.jpg?mtime=1515078287>
[2] Ryrie Study Bible. Ed. Ryrie Charles C. Trans. New American Standard. Moody Press. 1978. Footnote on Micah 5:2. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi’s Commentary. Micah – Chapter 5 commentary.
[3] Map of Israel. (untitled) Google Maps. n.d. <https://www.google.com/maps/@31.743205,35.21307,13z?hl=en> Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book VII, Chapter XII. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[4] Genesis 35:16-19; 48:7. “The Story of Abraham.” The History of Israel. n.d. <http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/story-of-abraham.html> Pratt, John P. “Divine Calendars Testify of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” JohnPratt.com. <http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2003/abraham.html> “Rachel’s Tomb.” Chabad.org. n.d. <http://www.chabad.org/special/israel/points_of_interest_cdo/aid/602502/jewish/Rachels-Tomb.htm> Roberts, David. The Victorian Web. “Bethlehem, Looking Toward the Dead Sea.” Painting. 1853. <https://victorianweb.org/painting/roberts/paintings/5.html
[5] I Chronicles 2:1-17; Ruth 3-4. Net.bible.org. Hebrew text ga’al. Ruth 2:20 <http://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=01350> “Salvation” and “Hosanna.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com> [4] Matthew 1:5; 1 Chronicles 2:10; Ruth 4:21.
[6] I Sam. 16: 4. 2 Samuel 16:11-13. I Chronicles 2:13.
[7] Net.bible.org..Ruth 2:20 Hebrew text. “goel.” Dictionary.com.
[8] Isaiah 11:1-2; 10.
[9] Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:14-17; 33:20-26; Zechariah 12:10-12
[10] Sanhedrin 98b. Soncino Babylonian Talmud. 1935-1948. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_98.html> “Nedarim 39b.” Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Steinsaltz, Adin. “Masechet Sanhedrin 98a-104b.” Orthodox Union. 2010. <https://www.ou.org/life/torah/masechet_sanhedrin_98a104b>
[11] McCaulley, Esau. The New York Times. “The Bloody Fourth Day of Christmas.” image. 2019. <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/opinion/christmas-feast-of-innocents.html> “Feast of the Holy Innocents.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2022. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Feast-of-the-Holy-Innocents> Last accessed 8 Dec. 2023.