Bethlehem, the small town where Jesus Christ was born, is located nine kilometers south of Jerusalem, in the hills of Judea. Its name in Hebrew means 'house of bread,' and in Arabic 'house of meat.'

This is the Bethlehem of Judea, which belonged to the tribe of Judah, and should be distinguished from the similarly named city of southern Galilee, which belonged to the tribe of Zebulun. However, in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, it is not mentioned among the cities given to Judah, and some of the commentators of the Scriptures speculate that the omission was deliberate, so as not to mention the birthplace of Christ.

The older name of the broader area of the city was Ephrath (or house of Ephrath), a name that in Hebrew signifies fertility and abundance. It is also referred to as the city of David, because it was the homeland of the prophetic figure of the Old Testament, and is often characterized as a 'village,' as it was one of the smaller cities of Palestine.

(. . .) [Excerpt from the text of the preface]