Βηθλέεμ G0965
Bethlehem — 'house of bread,' a town south of Jerusalem; birthplace of David and of Jesus the Messiah.
An indeclinable proper noun transliterated from Hebrew בֵּית לֶחֶם (bêth lechem, 'house of bread'). This small Judean town about six miles south of Jerusalem carries enormous theological weight as the birthplace of King David and, according to Micah 5:2, the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah. Matthew's nativity account centers on Bethlehem: the Magi are directed there (Matt 2:1, 5-6, 8), and Herod's massacre targets its children (Matt 2:16). Luke records Joseph and Mary traveling there for the census (Luke 2:4, 15). John 7:42 records the crowd debating whether the Christ must come from Bethlehem. German 'Bethlehem,' French 'Bethléem,' and Spanish 'Bēthleem' all preserve the Semitic name with minor phonetic adaptation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The proper name of a Judean town meaning 'house of bread,' located south of Jerusalem. It is the ancestral city of David and the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah (Mic 5:2, cited in Matt 2:6). All eight NT occurrences cluster in the birth narratives (Matt 2:1, 5, 6, 8, 16; Luke 2:4, 15) and the messianic debate of John 7:42. Every translation preserves the name with minimal phonetic variation — Spanish 'Bēthleem,' French 'Bethléem,' German 'Bethlehem' — reflecting its universal recognition as a place of singular redemptive significance. 8×
AR["بَيْتَ-لَحْمَ", "يَا-بَيْتَ-لَحْمُ"]·ben["বেথলেহেম", "বেথলেহেম,", "বেথলেহেমে", "বেথলেহেমে,", "বৈথলেহেম"]·DE["Bethlehem"]·EN["Bēthleem"]·FR["Bethléem"]·heb["בֵּית-לֶחֶם"]·HI["बैतलहम", "बैतलहम,"]·ID["Betlehem", "Betlehem,"]·IT["Betlemme"]·jav["Bètlehèm,", "Bètléhem,", "Bétléhèm", "Bétléhèm,"]·KO["베들레헴", "베들레헴-까지", "베들레헴아", "베들레헴에서"]·PT["Belém"]·RU["Вифлеем", "Вифлеема", "Вифлееме", "и"]·ES["Bēthleem"]·SW["Bēthleem", "Bēthléem"]·TR["Beytlehem", "Beytlehem'de", "Beytlehem'den", "Beytlehem'e"]·urd["بیت-لحم"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Βηθλέεμ, ἡ, indecl. (Heb. בֵּית לֶחֶם, house of bread), Bethlehem, a town 6 m. S. of Jerusalem: Mat.2:1, 5 6, 8, 16, Luk.2:4, 15 Jhn.7:42.† (From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)