Bethlehem

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

Related Topics:
West Bank - Bethlehem (disambiguation)

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Bethlehem (Arabic ??? ??? {{Audio|ArBethlehem.ogg|Bayt La?m}} "house of meat"; Standard Hebrew ??? ??? "house of bread", Bet lé?em / Bet lá?em; Tiberian Hebrew Bê? lé?em / Bê? l??em) is a city on the West Bank and a hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries.

Related Topics:
Arabic - Standard Hebrew - Tiberian Hebrew - West Bank

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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.

Related Topics:
Christian religion - Jesus of Nazareth - Rachel's tomb - Judaism - Palestinian Christian - Jerusalem - Agglomeration - Beit Jala - Beit Sahour

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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).

Related Topics:
Church of the Nativity - Jerome - 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.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - Vatican

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