Bethlehem

<<town where Jesus was born>>

The town, whose name means House of Bread, is 8 km S of Jerusalem, at 775 m above sea level. It was here King David was born, hence it was also called the City of David, and later it was celebrated as the birthplace of Jesus (1 Sam 16:1; Mt 2:1-6). Although Mary the mother of Jesus, who  together with Joseph His earthly father lived in Nazareth a town some 113 km N, the ruling Roman Emperor decreed that everyone had to return to their ancestral home for a census, thus giving reason for their presence in Bethlehem.  This fulfilled a prophecy of Micah as both Joseph and Mary were of the line of David (Mic 5:2).

The star of Bethlehem is associated with the birth of Christ and the visit of the wise men who referred to it as "His star" convinced a king had been born. It is unknown what exactly this illumination in the sky was yet it shouldn’t surprise us that God would use a miraculous sign to signal the advent of His Son into the world and guided those searching for Him to the specific spot (Mt 2:1-12).