Where Was Jesus Born?
Jesus’ birthplace and hometown
Where was Jesus born? In the Bible, Jesus’ birthplace is identified as Bethlehem. This scene from the Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel in Padua by the Italian artist Giotto shows Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the Bethlehem stable. The three wise men, along with their caravan, and angels gather around the child. Above the stable, Haley’s comet streaks across the sky. Haley’s comet was sighted in 1301, three years before Giotto painted this scene.
When the Christmas season draws near each year, the Nativity story is revisited in churches and households around the world. Passages from Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2, the infancy narratives in the Gospels, are read and sung—and even acted out in Christmas pageants.
Where was Jesus born? In the Bible, the answer seems straightforward: Bethlehem. Both Matthew 2 and Luke 2 state that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea.
However, Biblical scholarship has called the identification of Bethlehem as Jesus’ birthplace into question: If Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem, why is he called a Nazorean and a Galilean throughout the New Testament, and why is Bethlehem not mentioned as Jesus’ birthplace outside of the infancy narratives in the Gospels? This has caused some to wonder if Jesus was actually born in Nazareth.
In the November/December 2014 issue of BAR, Philip J. King addresses this question—where was Jesus born—in his Biblical Views column “Jesus’ Birthplace and Jesus’ Home.” He takes a close look at what the Bible says about the towns of Bethlehem, traditionally Jesus’ birthplace, and Nazareth, Jesus’ home.
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While Bethlehem in Judea was known in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament as being the birthplace of King David and the birthplace of the future messiah, the small village of Nazareth in Galilee was much lesser-known, not even warranting a mention in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud or in the writings of Josephus. King explains, “Nazareth derives its importance entirely from its relationship to the life and teaching of Jesus.”
The contrast between Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, and Nazareth, a small agricultural village, is obvious. Yet both sites were significant in the life of Jesus.
So if Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as the Gospels of Matthew and Luke attest, why was he called a Nazorean? To see what Philip J. King thinks—and for more information about the Biblical towns of Bethlehem and Nazareth—read the full column “Jesus’ Birthplace and Jesus’ Home” in the November/December 2014 issue of BAR.
BAS Library Subscribers: Read the full column “Jesus’ Birthplace and Jesus’ Home,” by Philip J. King in the November/December 2014 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
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Related reading in Bible History Daily
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The Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke—Of History, Theology and Literature
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on November 17, 2014.
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Isn’t it possible he was born in Bethlelam, and during infancy or at a very young age, they moved to Nazareth?
There are claims that there was more than one Bethlehem, and one of those towns was located in the Galilee. Those who were guiding Constantine’s mother through the area were not adverse to making things up as they went along.
Yeshua (Jesus) was Hebrew.
Yeshua was not born at Christmas
Christ mas was is & will always be pagan!!!
YeHoVaH God All Mighty wants all of us to get w/ His calander celebrate his sacred feast days.
check out truth YouTube Michael Rood /Rood awakening/119 ministry/Arthur Baily House of Israel.The truth will set you free.
Micah,a prophet of God, foretold that this child would eventually become a ruler and that he would be born in “Bethlehem Ephrathah.” (Micah 5:2) At the time of Jesus’ birth, there were two towns in Israel that were named Bethlehem. One was situated near Nazareth in the northern region of the country, and the other, near Jerusalem in Judah. Bethlehem near Jerusalem was formerly called Ephrathah. Jesus was born in that town, exactly as the prophecy foretold!—Matthew 2:1.
It was natural and not particularly unusual to speak of Jesus as the Nazarene, since from infancy (less than three years of age) he was raised as the local carpenter’s son in the city of Nazareth, a place about 100 km (60 mi) N of Jerusalem. The practice of associating persons with the places from which they came was common in those days.—2Sa 3:2, 3; 17:27; 23:25-37; Na 1:1; Ac 13:1; 21:29.
Frequently Jesus was referred to, in widely scattered places and by all kinds of persons, as the Nazarene. (Mr 1:23, 24; 10:46, 47; 14:66-69; 16:5, 6; Lu 24:13-19; Joh 18:1-7) Jesus himself accepted and used the name. (Joh 18:5-8; Ac 22:6-8) On the sign that Pilate had placed on the torture stake he wrote in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek: “Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.” (Joh 19:19, 20) From Pentecost 33 C.E. forward, the apostles as well as others often spoke of Jesus Christ as the Nazarene or as being from Nazareth.—Ac 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 10:38; 26:9.http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200274021
Jesus was born in Jerusalem as noted by his tomb in Talpiot, Jerusalem. reflecting a Jerusalem native.
If they fled from Bethlehem because of Herod – if it were me as the mom at least – I would make certain is to say my baby was from anywhere but there – totally makes sense to me… Probably not the only instance of kids that age in that precise era either
There is no doubt at all that Yāwshu (Jesus in Phoenician/Aramaic) was born in the Galilean Bet(h)-Lahm (House of Bread) possibly inside a grotto at the foot of Mt. Carmel, very close to what was later known, Nazareth (form Nazar or Nazir: consecrated to God Ēl, since he is Immanu-Ēl).
The Judean Bethlehem did not exist at the time of Jesus in Archeological term, and relating Jesus to Bethlehem of Judea was not but an attempt to link Jesus to David by Matthew, something Jesus would have definitely refuse. Besides, there is no extra-Old Testament reference for David’s existence.
To read more about where was Jesus born and who was he in reality, check out the Bestselling & Ground-Breaking book, «Jesus the Phoenician»
Šalam,
Karim El Koussa,
Bestselling & Award Winning Lebanese Author
Born in Bethlehem (Matt.2:1); taken to Egypt (Matt.2:13); raised in Nazareth (Matt.2:23). All in a single chapter! So what is the problem? Rom.3:4.
el Profeta Miqueas dijo; y tu Belen de Juda, de ninguna manera eres la menor entre los clanes de Juda, porque de ti saldra un caudillo que apacentara a mi pueblo Israel!, y los Santos Evangelios lo confirman!
The Census of Quirinius was the enrollment of the Roman provinces of Syria and Judaea for tax purposes taken in 6/7 CE. The Census was taken during the reign of Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE), when Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was appointed governor of Syria, after the banishment of Herod Archelaus from the Tetrarchy of Judea and the imposition of direct Roman rule. One account of the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), in the Gospel of Luke, connects it to this census.
Notice the year of the Census, 6/7 CE (or AD if you prefer). This would have been 12 years AFTER the birth of Yeshua, as all now agree the the year of his birth was 6 BCE (or BC). As no Census was taken that year, there was no reason to travel to Bethlehem for any reason.
The stories of his birth in Bethlehem were later additions to the Gospels by Christian writers in order to prove Yeshua’s identity as being the Messiah, since his birth was foretold to occur there. This has been shown to be the case by intensive research into the matter by countless Biblical Scholars.