Bethlehem

:This article is about the city in the West Bank. For other articles with this name see Bethlehem (disambiguation).

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Bethlehem (Arabic ??? ??? "house of meat"; Standard Hebrew ??? ??? "house of bread", Bet l??em / Bet l??em; Tiberian Hebrew B?? l??em / B?? l??em) is a city on the West Bank and a hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries.

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The city has great significance to the Christian religion as it is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The traditional site of Rachel's tomb, which is important in Judaism, lies at the city's outskirts. Bethlehem is also home to one of largest Palestinian Christian communities in the Middle East. It lies about 10 km (6 mi) south of Jerusalem, standing at an elevation of about 765 m (2 510 ft) above the sea, thus 30 m (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. The Bethlehem agglomeration also covers the small towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, the latter also having biblical significance.

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The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine the Great (A.D. 330), stands in the centre of Bethlehem over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, which according to Christian tradition is the place where 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 Vulgate).

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Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University http://www.bethlehem.edu, a major Roman Catholic institution which was founded under the direction of the Vatican.

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West Bank: The West Bank is a landlocked territory not recognized as a de jure part of any sovereign country. The West Bank is considered by the United Nations and most countries as occupied by Israel, though some Israelis and various other groups prefer to refer to it as "disputed" rather than "occupied" terr...

Bethlehem (disambiguation): Bethlehem may be referring to:...

Arabic: redirect Arabic language...

Bethlehem related Images and Photos (experimental)

Bethlehem Steel Bethlehem Pennsylvania	Iron Forge Bethlehem Pennsylvania	Star of Bethlehem Triptych	Journey to Bethlehem
View of Bethlehem 1857	New Bethlehem Hospital St. George's Fields as Rebuilt 1815	Bethlehem Graveyard and Steel Mill Pennsylvania November 1935	Greetings from Bethlehem Pennsylvania
The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem the Right Hand Wall of the Chapel circa 1460