Bethlehem (redirected from Betlehem)

Bethlehem, city, United States

Bethlehem, city (1990 pop. 71,428), Northampton and Lehigh counties, E Pa., on the Lehigh R. near Allentown and Easton; inc. as a city 1917. Local manufacturing, once dominated by the giant Bethlehem Steel Corp., is now more diversified. Chemicals, machines, cement, and textiles have been important, and a semiconductor industry is growing rapidly. Bethlehem was settled in 1740–41 by Moravians (see Moravian Church) and incorporated as a borough in 1845. Steelmaking began in the early 1870s, and Bethlehem Steel's structural-steel mill opened in 1908; in 1995, when it closed, the steelmaking era ended. Many of the mill's huge buildings remain in the city. In Bethlehem is the Moravian Museum, which incorporates the Gemeinhaus (1741); the Central Moravian Church (c.1803); and the Schnitz House (1749). An internationally famous spring music festival performed by the Bach Choir (1898) is held in the city. Bethlehem is the seat of Lehigh Univ. and Moravian College.

Bibliography

See R. Schwartz, Bethlehem on the Lehigh (1991).

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Bethlehem, town, West Bank

Bethlehem (bĕth`lĭhĕm,–lēəm) [Heb.,=house of bread or house of Lahm, a goddess], Arab. Bayt Lahm, town (2003 est. pop. 28,000), in the West Bank. It is traditionally considered the birthplace of Jesus and is one of the world's great shrines. Situated on a hill in green, fertile country, Bethlehem looks across to the Dead Sea and beyond. Its inhabitants, who are Muslim and Christian Arabs, depend largely on pilgrims and tourists for their livelihood. Handicrafts, fashioned from olive wood and mother-of-pearl, embroidered goods, and religious articles are made in the town. Bethlehem is also the trade center for surrounding farming villages and for the pastoral nomads who inhabit the area.

In the Old Testament Bethlehem was the scene of the book of Ruth and the home of David. The tomb of Rachel is nearby. Benjamin was born near Ephratah (or Ephrath), which was either an earlier name for Bethlehem or a nearby town. David and his family neglected their city, which became obscure, forgotten by all except those who looked to Bethlehem for the Messiah.

The city later became important as the birthplace of Jesus. Hadrian desecrated (A.D. 135) the traditional place of the nativity with a grove sacred to Adonis. In 315, Constantine destroyed the heathen grove and constructed instead the Church of the Nativity (completed 333). The church, rebuilt and enlarged by Justinian I in the 6th cent., is now shared by monks of Greek, Latin, and Armenian orders. The place where Jesus was born is said to have been in the grotto under the church. Saint Jerome lived (386–420?) in the court of the church and produced there the Vulgate text of the Bible.

From 1099 to 1187, Crusaders controlled Bethlehem, and in 1571 the city was annexed by the Ottoman Empire. It was part of the British-administered Palestine mandate from 1922 until 1948, when it joined Jordan. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Bethlehem became part of the Israeli-occupied territories, administered militarily by Israeli troops. Palestinian refugee camps were located nearby. In Dec., 1995, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem as part of the process of establishing Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank, but the city was the scene of Palestinian-Israeli fighting in the renewed conflict that began in 2000.

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Bethlehem, town, South Africa

Bethlehem, town (1991 pop. 80,921), Free State, E central South Africa. It is situated in a farming and livestock area and has industries producing furniture and food products. Bethlehem was founded in 1860, and its main growth began after the railroad from Natal (present-day KwaZulu-Natal) reached there in 1905.

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Bethlehem

 Arabic Bayt Lahm

Town (pop., 2005 prelim.: 29,000), West Bank, south of Jerusalem. An ancient town of Judaea, it was the early home of King David. A Roman garrison was stationed there during the Second Jewish Revolt (AD 135). Christians regard it as the birthplace of Jesus, and in the early 4th century the Church of the Nativity, located on what is believed to be the site of Jesus' birth, was built there. Bethlehem was included in the British mandate of Palestine (1923–48); in 1950, following the first Arab-Israeli war (1948–49), it was annexed by Jordan. After the Six-Day War (1967), it became part of the West Bank territory under Israeli administration. Under an agreement reached in 1995, Israel ceded rule of the town to a Palestinian Authority. Long an important pilgrim and tourist centre, it is also an agricultural market closely linked to Jerusalem.

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Bethlehem

City (pop., 2000: metro area, 71,329), eastern Pennsylvania, U.S. With Allentown and Easton it forms an urban industrial complex. Founded in 1741 by Moravian missionaries, it was the site of a hospital for Continental soldiers during the American Revolution. Industrialization began with the opening of the Lehigh Canal (1829) and the founding of the forerunner of the Bethlehem Steel Corp. (1857); the city became a major steel-producing centre. Its economy has since diversified to include textiles, metal products, furniture, and chemicals.

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Bethlehem

a town in the West Bank, near Jerusalem: birthplace of Jesus and early home of King David

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Bethlehem

birthplace of Jesus. [N.T.: Matthew 2:1]

See : Nativity