bethlehem

Bethlehem
    n 1: a town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the
         northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel
         production
    2: a small town near Jerusalem on the West Bank of the Jordan
       River; early home of David and regarded as the place where
       Jesus was born [syn: {Bethlehem}, {Bayt Lahm}, {Bethlehem
       Ephrathah}, {Bethlehem-Judah}]
    

Bethlehem \Beth"le*hem\, n. [Heb. b[=e]th-lekhem house of food;
   b[=e]th house + lekhem food, l[=a]kham to eat. Formerly the
   name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been
   the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. {Bedlam}.]
   1. A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into {bedlam}.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Arch.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached
      to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist
      is made. --Audsley.
      [1913 Webster] Bethlehemite
    

Bethlehem
house of bread. (1.) A city in the "hill country" of Judah. It
was originally called Ephrath (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11).
It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2),
Beth-lehem-judah (1 Sam. 17:12), and "the city of David" (Luke
2:4). It is first noticed in Scripture as the place where Rachel
died and was buried "by the wayside," directly to the north of
the city (Gen. 48:7). The valley to the east was the scene of
the story of Ruth the Moabitess. There are the fields in which
she gleaned, and the path by which she and Naomi returned to the
town. Here was David's birth-place, and here also, in after
years, he was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Sam. 16:4-13); and
it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his heroes
brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in
the cave of Adullam (2 Sam. 23:13-17). But it was distinguished
above every other city as the birth-place of "Him whose goings
forth have been of old" (Matt. 2:6; comp. Micah 5:2). Afterwards
Herod, "when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men," sent
and slew "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all
the coasts thereof, from two years old and under" (Matt. 2:16,
18; Jer. 31:15).

  Bethlehem bears the modern name of Beit-Lahm, i.e., "house of
flesh." It is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem, standing at an
elevation of about 2,550 feet above the sea, thus 100 feet
higher than Jerusalem.

  There is a church still existing, built by Constantine the
Great (A.D. 330), called the "Church of the Nativity," over a
grotto or cave called the "holy crypt," and said to be the
"stable" in which Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest
existing Christian church in the world. Close to it is another
grotto, where Jerome the Latin father is said to have spent
thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures into
Latin. (See {VERSION}.)

  (2.) A city of Zebulun, mentioned only in Josh. 19:15. Now
Beit-Lahm, a ruined village about 6 miles west-north-west of
Nazareth.
    

Beth-lehem, house of bread
    

Bethlehem, CT
  Zip code(s): 06751
Bethlehem, GA (town, FIPS 7612)
  Location: 33.93761 N, 83.70844 W
  Population (1990): 348 (148 housing units)
  Area: 4.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 30620
Bethlehem, KY
  Zip code(s): 40007
Bethlehem, NC (CDP, FIPS 5530)
  Location: 35.81345 N, 81.29237 W
  Population (1990): 3186 (1310 housing units)
  Area: 19.7 sq km (land), 3.4 sq km (water)
Bethlehem, NH
  Zip code(s): 03574
Bethlehem, PA (city, FIPS 6088)
  Location: 40.62670 N, 75.36805 W
  Population (1990): 71428 (28486 housing units)
  Area: 49.9 sq km (land), 0.4 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 18015, 18018
Bethlehem, SD
  Zip code(s): 57708
Bethlehem, WV (village, FIPS 6940)
  Location: 40.04471 N, 80.69198 W
  Population (1990): 2694 (1137 housing units)
  Area: 9.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    

Bethlehem, NC -- U.S. Census Designated Place in North Carolina
   Population (2000):    3713
   Housing Units (2000): 1549
   Land area (2000):     7.594031 sq. miles (19.668449 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    1.313086 sq. miles (3.400877 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    8.907117 sq. miles (23.069326 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            05530
   Located within:       North Carolina (NC), FIPS 37
   Location:             35.812171 N, 81.293026 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):    
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Bethlehem, NC
    Bethlehem
    

Bethlehem, GA -- U.S. town in Georgia
   Population (2000):    716
   Housing Units (2000): 265
   Land area (2000):     2.157709 sq. miles (5.588441 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    2.157709 sq. miles (5.588441 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            07612
   Located within:       Georgia (GA), FIPS 13
   Location:             33.936492 N, 83.710481 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     30620
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Bethlehem, GA
    Bethlehem
    

Bethlehem, PA -- U.S. city in Pennsylvania
   Population (2000):    71329
   Housing Units (2000): 29631
   Land area (2000):     19.255333 sq. miles (49.871081 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.167156 sq. miles (0.432931 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    19.422489 sq. miles (50.304012 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            06088
   Located within:       Pennsylvania (PA), FIPS 42
   Location:             40.626198 N, 75.375673 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     18015 18018
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Bethlehem, PA
    Bethlehem
    

Bethlehem, WV -- U.S. village in West Virginia
   Population (2000):    2651
   Housing Units (2000): 1169
   Land area (2000):     3.529233 sq. miles (9.140672 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    3.529233 sq. miles (9.140672 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            06940
   Located within:       West Virginia (WV), FIPS 54
   Location:             40.048761 N, 80.693601 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):    
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Bethlehem, WV
    Bethlehem