bet-lechem · Bethlehem

What it means

bet-lechem (בֵּית לֶחֶם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “Bethlehem”.

"house of bread": a town of Judah where David and Jesus were born; also a town in Zebulun.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

The place

• Bethlehem

  Today: Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm), West Bank

  A town in Judea, about 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Jerusalem.

  Rachel died near it (Gen 35:19), Naomi and Ruth lived there (Ruth 1:1), and David was born there. Micah said a ruler would come from it, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2; Matt 2:1).

  Genesis 35:19Ruth 1:1Micah 5:2Matthew 2:1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×4
• Joshua×2
• Judges×18
• Ruth×14
• 1 Samuel×10
• 2 Samuel×10
• 1 Chronicles×14
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Ezra×2
• Nehemiah×2
• Jeremiah×2
• Micah×2

• Genesis 35:19

  So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

• Genesis 48:7

  As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem.”

• Joshua 19:15

  and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.

• Judges 12:8

  After him Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.

• Judges 12:10

  And Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

• Judges 17:7

  There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, of the family of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was residing as an alien there.

• Judges 17:8

  And the man went from the city, from Bethlehem of Judah, to reside as an alien wherever he might find a place; and he came to the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Micah, as he went on his way.

• Judges 17:9

  And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem of Judah, and I am going to reside as an alien wherever I may find a place.”

• Judges 19:1

  And it happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a man, a Levite, residing as an alien in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, and he took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah.

• Judges 19:2

  But his concubine prostituted herself against him and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem of Judah, and she was there for some time, four months.

• Judges 19:18

  And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem of Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim; from there I am. I went to Bethlehem of Judah, and I am going to the house of YHWH, and there is no one taking me into the house.

• Ruth 1:1

  And it happened in the days when the judges judged that there was a famine in the land; and a man from Bethlehem of Judah went to reside as an alien in the fields of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

• Ruth 1:2

  The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They came into the fields of Moab and stayed there.

• Ruth 1:19

  So the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they came to Bethlehem, that the whole city was stirred because of them, and they said, “Is this Naomi?”

• Ruth 1:22

  So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the fields of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

• Ruth 2:4

  And look, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers, “YHWH be with you.” And they said to him, “May YHWH bless you.”

• Ruth 4:11

  And all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “Witnesses. May YHWH make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built the house of Israel. Act with worth in Ephrathah and have renown in Bethlehem.

• 1 Samuel 16:4

  Samuel did what YHWH had spoken and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city trembled to meet him, and one said, “Is your coming in peace?”

• 1 Samuel 17:12

  Now David was the son of that Ephrathite man from Bethlehem of Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons; and the man in the days of Saul was old, advanced in years among men.

• 1 Samuel 17:15

  And David was going and returning from beside Saul to pasture his father’s flock at Bethlehem.

• 1 Samuel 20:6

  If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked of me to run to Bethlehem, his city, for there is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

• 1 Samuel 20:28

  Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked of me to go as far as Bethlehem.

• 2 Samuel 2:32

  They carried Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and day dawned for them at Hebron.

• 2 Samuel 23:14

  David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

• 2 Samuel 23:15

  David longed and said, “Who will give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate?”

• 2 Samuel 23:16

  The three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David; but he was not willing to drink it, and he poured it out as a libation to YHWH.

• 2 Samuel 23:24

  Asahel, the brother of Joab, was among the thirty; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

• 1 Chronicles 2:51

  Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader.

• 1 Chronicles 2:54

  The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites.

• 1 Chronicles 4:4

  And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.

• 1 Chronicles 11:16

  David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

• 1 Chronicles 11:17

  David longed and said, “Who will give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate?”

• 1 Chronicles 11:18

  The three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David; but David was not willing to drink it, and he poured it out as a libation to YHWH.

• 1 Chronicles 11:26

  The mighty men of the troops: Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

• 2 Chronicles 11:6

  He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

• Ezra 2:21

  the sons of Bethlehem, one hundred twenty-three;

• Nehemiah 7:26

  the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred eighty-eight;

• Jeremiah 41:17

  And they went and stayed at Geruth-chimham, which is near Bethlehem, intending to go and enter Egypt,

• Micah 5:2

  But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, small to be among the thousands of Judah, from you one will come out for me to be ruler in Israel, and his goings out are from of old, from the days of long ago.

And 43 more times.