(20) Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are
dead which sought the young child's life.
(21) And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
(22) But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid
to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
(23) And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene‖.
2:1 Why Bethlehem and not Jerusalem?
―Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came
wise men from the east to Jerusalem‖.
Bethlehem is located some five kilometres south of Jerusalem, in the hill country that was assigned to the
tribe of Judah, on the east of the Jerusalem-Hebron Road. According to the Bible, Jacob's wife Rachel, who
had long been unable to conceive, died while giving birth to Benjamin near Bethlehem on the way to Efrata;
and that Jacob set a pillar over her grave. (Gen 35:19.) The site of Rachel‘s Tomb, just outside Bethlehem, is
a Jewish holy place; and to this day a place of pilgrimage and prayer (Gen 48:7.) The tomb originally
consisted of eleven stones laid flat, with one stone above the others. Legend holds that Jacob's eleven sons
placed the first stones and their father added the last one, making it twelve for the twelve tribes of Israel
birthed from her womb. Y‘shua came from the tribe of Judah.
Samuel also anointed David king in Bethlehem (1 Sam 16:1-13) and David was a descendant of Ruth and
Boaz, who were married in Bethlehem. And as we have already seen, Y‘shua is from the lineage of David.
From the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanach – Old Covenant):
In Hebrew, the town is called Beit-Lechem, literally "House of Bread"; and in Arabic, it is Bet Lahm, "House
of Meat". Bethlehem is referred to in the verse from Micah 5:2. This can be interpreted in strictly a literal
sense that the Messiah will be from Beit-Lechem. Also, it could be taken in a figurative sense (still in the
"p'shat") as, Messiah will be of the lineage of David: ―But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah (cities), yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in
Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting‖. (Mic 5:2)
From the Rabbinic Writings:
An interesting reference can be found in the Midrash Rabbah section on Lamentations (written well after
Y‘shua's time) that links Messiah to Bethlehem, stating that He died around the time the Temple was
destroyed and upon His return it would be rebuilt:
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations I:51 – ―BECAUSE THE COMFORTER IS FAR FROM ME, EVEN HE THAT
SHOULD REFRESH MY SOUL. What is the name of King Messiah? R. Abba b. Kahana said: His name is
̳the Lord‘; as it is stated, And this is the name whereby he shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness
(Jer. XXIII, 6). For R. Levi said: It is good for a province when its name is identical with that of its king, and
the name of its king identical with that of its God. ̳It is good for a province when its name is identical with that
of its king‘, as it is written, And the name of the city from that day shall be the Lord is there (Ezek. XLVIII, 35).
̳And the name of its king identical with that of its God‘, as it is stated, ‘And this is the name whereby he shall
be called, The Lord is our righteousness‘. R. Joshua b. Levi said: His name is 'Shoot ̳; as it is stated, Behold,
a man whose name is Shoot, and who shall shoot up out of his place, and build the temple of the Lord (Zech.
VI, 12). R. Judan said in the name of R. Aibu: His name is ̳Comforter‘; as it is said, THE COMFORTER IS
FAR FROM ME. R. Hanina said: They do not really differ, because the numerical value of the names is the
same, so that ' Comforter ' is identical with 'Shoot‖.
The following story supports what R. Judan said in the name of R. Aibu: It happened that a man was
ploughing, when one of his oxen lowed. An Arab passed by and asked, ̳What are you?‘ He answered, ̳I am
a Jew‘. He said to him, ̳Unharness your ox and untie your plough‘ [as a mark of mourning]. ' Why? 'he
asked. 'Because the Temple of the Jews is destroyed‘. He inquired, ̳From where do you know this?‘ He
answered, ̳I know it from the lowing of your ox‘. While he was conversing with him, the ox lowed again. The
Arab said to him, ̳Harness your ox and tie up your plough, because the deliverer of the Jews is born‘. ̳What
is his name?‘ he asked; and he answered, ̳His name is "Comforter" ̳. ̳What is his father's name?‘ He
answered, ' Hezekiah‘. 'Where do they live?' He answered, ̳In Birath ̳Arba in Bethlehem of Judah‘. The
man sold his oxen and plough and bought felt garments for children. He journeyed from one city to another
and from one province to another until he reached that place. All the villagers came to buy garments from
him, but the mother of that child made no purchase of him. He asked her, ̳Why do you not buy children's felt
garments?‘ She answered, ' Because a hard fate is in store for my child‘. ̳Why?‘ he asked; and she
answered, ̳Because close on his coming the Temple was destroyed‘. He said to her, ̳We trust in the Lord of