a city in the tribe of Judah, Judges xvii, 7; and likewise
called Ephrath, Gen. xlviii, 7; or Ephratah, Micah v, 2; and the
inhabitants of it, Ephrathites, Ruth i, 2; 1 Sam. xvii, 12. Here David
was born, and spent his early years as a shepherd. And here also the
scene of the beautiful narrative of Ruth is supposed to be laid. But its
highest honour is, that here our divine Lord condescended to be born of
woman:--“And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is
to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been of old, from
everlasting.” Travellers describe the first view of Bethlehem as
imposing. The town appears covering the ridge of a hill on the southern
side of a deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west. The
most conspicuous object is the monastery erected over the supposed “Cave
of the Nativity;” its walls and battlements have the air of a large
fortress. From this same point, the Dead Sea is seen below on the left,
seemingly very near, “but,” says Sandys, “not so found by the traveller;
for these high, declining mountains are not to be directly descended.”
The road winds round the top of a valley which tradition has fixed on as
the scene of the angelic vision which announced the birth of our Lord to
the shepherds; but different spots have been selected, the Romish
authorities not being agreed on this head. Bethlehem (called in the New
Testament Bethlehem Ephrata and Bethlehem of Judea, to distinguish it
from Bethlehem of Zabulon) is situated on a rising ground, about two
hours’ distance, or not quite six miles from Jerusalem. Here the
traveller meets with a repetition of the same puerilities and disgusting
mummery which he has witnessed at the church of the sepulchre. “The
stable,” to use the words of Pococke, “in which our Lord was born, is a
_grotto_ cut out of the rock, according to the eastern custom.” It is
astonishing to find so intelligent a writer as Dr. E. D. Clarke gravely
citing St. Jerom, who wrote in the fifth century, as an authority for
the truth of the absurd legend by which the cave of the nativity is
supposed to be identified. The ancient tombs and excavations are
occasionally used by the Arabs as places of shelter; but the Gospel
narrative affords no countenance to the notion that the Virgin took
refuge in any cave of this description. On the contrary, it was
evidently a manger belonging to the inn or khan: in other words, the
upper rooms being wholly occupied, the holy family were compelled to
take up their abode in the court allotted to the mules and horses, or
other animals. But the New Testament was not the guide which was
followed by the mother of Constantine, to whom the original church owed
its foundation. The present edifice is represented by Chateaubriand as
of undoubtedly high antiquity; yet Doubdan, an old traveller, says that
the monastery was destroyed in the year 1263 by the Moslems; and in its
present state, at all events, it cannot lay claim to a higher date. The
convent is divided among the Greek, Roman, and Armenian Christians, to
each of whom separate parts are assigned as places of worship and
habitations for the monks; but, on certain days, all may perform their
devotions at the altars erected over the consecrated spots. The church
is built in the form of a cross; the nave being adorned with forty-eight
Corinthian columns in four rows, each column being two feet six inches
in diameter, and eighteen feet high, including the base and the capital.
The nave, which is in possession of the Armenians, is separated from the
three other branches of the cross by a wall, so that the unity of the
edifice is destroyed. The top of the cross is occupied by the choir,
which belongs to the Greeks. Here is an altar dedicated to the wise men
of the east, at the foot of which is a marble star, corresponding, as
the monks say, to the point of the heavens where the miraculous meteor
became stationary, and directly over the spot where the Saviour was born
in the subterranean church below! A flight of fifteen steps, and a long
narrow passage, conduct to the sacred crypt or grotto of the nativity,
which is thirty-seven feet six inches long, by eleven feet three inches
in breadth, and nine feet high. It is lined and floored with marble, and
provided on each side with five oratories, “answering precisely to the
ten cribs or stalls for horses that the stable in which our Saviour was
born contained!” The precise spot of the birth is marked by a glory in
the floor, composed of marble and jasper encircled with silver, around
which are inscribed the words, _Hìc de Virgine Mariâ Jesus Christus
natus est_. [Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.] Over it is
a marble table or altar, which rests against the side of the rock, here
cut into an arcade. The _manger_ is at the distance of seven paces from
the altar; it is in a low recess hewn out of the rock, to which you
descend by two steps, and consists of a block of marble, raised about a
foot and a half above the floor, and hollowed out in the form of a
manger. Before it is the altar of the Magi. The chapel is illuminated by
thirty-two lamps, presented by different princes of Christendom.
Chateaubriand has described the scene in his usual florid and
imaginative style: “Nothing can be more pleasing, or better calculated
to excite devotional sentiments, than this subterraneous church. It is
adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools, which
represent the mysteries of the place. The usual ornaments of the manger
are of blue satin, embroidered with silver. Incense is continually
burning before the cradle of our Saviour. I have heard an organ, touched
by no ordinary hand, play, during mass, the sweetest and most tender
tunes of the best Italian composers. These concerts charm the Christian
Arab, who, leaving his camels to feed, repairs, like the shepherds of
old, to Bethlehem, to adore the King of kings in the manger. I have seen
this inhabitant of the desert communicate at the altar of the Magi, with
a fervour, a piety, a devotion, unknown among the Christians of the
west. The continual arrival of caravans from all the nations of
Christendom; the public prayers; the prostrations; nay, even the
richness of the presents sent here by the Christian princes, altogether
produce feelings in the soul, which it is much easier to conceive than
to describe.”
Such are the illusions which the Roman superstition casts over this
extraordinary scene! In another subterraneous chapel, tradition places
the sepulchre of the Innocents. From this, the pilgrim is conducted to
the grotto of St. Jerom, where they show the tomb of that father, who
passed great part of his life in this place; and who, in the grotto
shown as his oratory, is said to have translated that version of the
Bible which has been adopted by the church of Rome, and is called the
Vulgate. He died at the advanced age of ninety-one, A. D. 422. The
village of Bethlehem contains about three hundred inhabitants, the
greater part of whom gain their livelihood by making beads, carving
mother-of-pearl shells with sacred subjects, and manufacturing small
tables and crucifixes, all which are eagerly purchased by the pilgrims.
Bethlehem has been visited by many modern travellers. The following
notice of it by Dr. E. D. Clarke will be read with interest: “After
travelling for about an hour from the time of our leaving Jerusalem, we
came in view of Bethlehem, and halted to enjoy the interesting sight.
The town appeared covering the ridge of a hill on the southern side of a
deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west; the most
conspicuous object being the monastery, erected over the cave of the
nativity, in the suburbs, and upon the eastern side. The battlements and
walls of this building seemed like those of a vast fortress. The Dead
Sea below, upon our left, appeared so near to us that we thought we
could have rode thither in a very short space of time. Still nearer
stood a mountain upon its western shore, resembling in its form the cone
of Vesuvius near Naples, and having also a crater upon its top which was
plainly discernible. The distance, however, is much greater than it
appears to be; the magnitude of the objects beheld in this fine prospect
causing them to appear less remote than they really are. The atmosphere
was remarkably clear and serene; but we saw none of those clouds of
smoke, which, by some writers, are said to exhale from the surface of
the lake, nor from any neighbouring mountain. Every thing about it was
in the highest degree grand and awful. Bethlehem is six miles from
Jerusalem. Josephus describes the interval between the two cities as
equal only to twenty stadia; and in the passage referred to, he makes an
allusion to a celebrated well, which, both from the account given by him
of its situation, and more especially from the text of the sacred
Scriptures, 2 Sam. xxiii, 15, seems to have contained the identical
fountain, of whose pure and delicious water we were now drinking.
Considered merely in point of interest, the narrative is not likely to
be surpassed by any circumstance of Pagan history. David, being a native
of Bethlehem, calls to mind, during the sultry days of harvest, verse
13, a well near the gate of the town, the delicious waters of which he
had often tasted; and expresses an earnest desire to assuage his thirst
by drinking of that limpid spring. ‘And David longed, and said, O that
one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which
is by the gate!’ The exclamation is overheard by ‘three of the mighty
men whom David had,’ namely, Adino, Eleazar, and Shamnah, verses 8, 9,
11. These men sallied forth, and having fought their way through the
garrison of the Philistines at Bethlehem, verse 14, ‘drew water from the
well that was by the gate,’ on the other side of the town, and brought
it to David. Coming into his presence, they present to him the
surprising testimony of their valour and affection. The aged monarch
receives from their hands a pledge they had so dearly earned, but
refuses to drink of water every drop of which had been purchased with
blood, 2 Sam. xxiii, 17. He returns thanks to the Almighty, who had
vouchsafed the deliverance of his warriors from the jeopardy they had
encountered; and pouring out the water as a libation on the ground,
makes an offering of it to the Lord. The well still retains its pristine
renown; and many an expatriated Bethlehemite has made it the theme of
his longing and regret.”
called Ephrath, Gen. xlviii, 7; or Ephratah, Micah v, 2; and the
inhabitants of it, Ephrathites, Ruth i, 2; 1 Sam. xvii, 12. Here David
was born, and spent his early years as a shepherd. And here also the
scene of the beautiful narrative of Ruth is supposed to be laid. But its
highest honour is, that here our divine Lord condescended to be born of
woman:--“And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is
to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been of old, from
everlasting.” Travellers describe the first view of Bethlehem as
imposing. The town appears covering the ridge of a hill on the southern
side of a deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west. The
most conspicuous object is the monastery erected over the supposed “Cave
of the Nativity;” its walls and battlements have the air of a large
fortress. From this same point, the Dead Sea is seen below on the left,
seemingly very near, “but,” says Sandys, “not so found by the traveller;
for these high, declining mountains are not to be directly descended.”
The road winds round the top of a valley which tradition has fixed on as
the scene of the angelic vision which announced the birth of our Lord to
the shepherds; but different spots have been selected, the Romish
authorities not being agreed on this head. Bethlehem (called in the New
Testament Bethlehem Ephrata and Bethlehem of Judea, to distinguish it
from Bethlehem of Zabulon) is situated on a rising ground, about two
hours’ distance, or not quite six miles from Jerusalem. Here the
traveller meets with a repetition of the same puerilities and disgusting
mummery which he has witnessed at the church of the sepulchre. “The
stable,” to use the words of Pococke, “in which our Lord was born, is a
_grotto_ cut out of the rock, according to the eastern custom.” It is
astonishing to find so intelligent a writer as Dr. E. D. Clarke gravely
citing St. Jerom, who wrote in the fifth century, as an authority for
the truth of the absurd legend by which the cave of the nativity is
supposed to be identified. The ancient tombs and excavations are
occasionally used by the Arabs as places of shelter; but the Gospel
narrative affords no countenance to the notion that the Virgin took
refuge in any cave of this description. On the contrary, it was
evidently a manger belonging to the inn or khan: in other words, the
upper rooms being wholly occupied, the holy family were compelled to
take up their abode in the court allotted to the mules and horses, or
other animals. But the New Testament was not the guide which was
followed by the mother of Constantine, to whom the original church owed
its foundation. The present edifice is represented by Chateaubriand as
of undoubtedly high antiquity; yet Doubdan, an old traveller, says that
the monastery was destroyed in the year 1263 by the Moslems; and in its
present state, at all events, it cannot lay claim to a higher date. The
convent is divided among the Greek, Roman, and Armenian Christians, to
each of whom separate parts are assigned as places of worship and
habitations for the monks; but, on certain days, all may perform their
devotions at the altars erected over the consecrated spots. The church
is built in the form of a cross; the nave being adorned with forty-eight
Corinthian columns in four rows, each column being two feet six inches
in diameter, and eighteen feet high, including the base and the capital.
The nave, which is in possession of the Armenians, is separated from the
three other branches of the cross by a wall, so that the unity of the
edifice is destroyed. The top of the cross is occupied by the choir,
which belongs to the Greeks. Here is an altar dedicated to the wise men
of the east, at the foot of which is a marble star, corresponding, as
the monks say, to the point of the heavens where the miraculous meteor
became stationary, and directly over the spot where the Saviour was born
in the subterranean church below! A flight of fifteen steps, and a long
narrow passage, conduct to the sacred crypt or grotto of the nativity,
which is thirty-seven feet six inches long, by eleven feet three inches
in breadth, and nine feet high. It is lined and floored with marble, and
provided on each side with five oratories, “answering precisely to the
ten cribs or stalls for horses that the stable in which our Saviour was
born contained!” The precise spot of the birth is marked by a glory in
the floor, composed of marble and jasper encircled with silver, around
which are inscribed the words, _Hìc de Virgine Mariâ Jesus Christus
natus est_. [Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.] Over it is
a marble table or altar, which rests against the side of the rock, here
cut into an arcade. The _manger_ is at the distance of seven paces from
the altar; it is in a low recess hewn out of the rock, to which you
descend by two steps, and consists of a block of marble, raised about a
foot and a half above the floor, and hollowed out in the form of a
manger. Before it is the altar of the Magi. The chapel is illuminated by
thirty-two lamps, presented by different princes of Christendom.
Chateaubriand has described the scene in his usual florid and
imaginative style: “Nothing can be more pleasing, or better calculated
to excite devotional sentiments, than this subterraneous church. It is
adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools, which
represent the mysteries of the place. The usual ornaments of the manger
are of blue satin, embroidered with silver. Incense is continually
burning before the cradle of our Saviour. I have heard an organ, touched
by no ordinary hand, play, during mass, the sweetest and most tender
tunes of the best Italian composers. These concerts charm the Christian
Arab, who, leaving his camels to feed, repairs, like the shepherds of
old, to Bethlehem, to adore the King of kings in the manger. I have seen
this inhabitant of the desert communicate at the altar of the Magi, with
a fervour, a piety, a devotion, unknown among the Christians of the
west. The continual arrival of caravans from all the nations of
Christendom; the public prayers; the prostrations; nay, even the
richness of the presents sent here by the Christian princes, altogether
produce feelings in the soul, which it is much easier to conceive than
to describe.”
Such are the illusions which the Roman superstition casts over this
extraordinary scene! In another subterraneous chapel, tradition places
the sepulchre of the Innocents. From this, the pilgrim is conducted to
the grotto of St. Jerom, where they show the tomb of that father, who
passed great part of his life in this place; and who, in the grotto
shown as his oratory, is said to have translated that version of the
Bible which has been adopted by the church of Rome, and is called the
Vulgate. He died at the advanced age of ninety-one, A. D. 422. The
village of Bethlehem contains about three hundred inhabitants, the
greater part of whom gain their livelihood by making beads, carving
mother-of-pearl shells with sacred subjects, and manufacturing small
tables and crucifixes, all which are eagerly purchased by the pilgrims.
Bethlehem has been visited by many modern travellers. The following
notice of it by Dr. E. D. Clarke will be read with interest: “After
travelling for about an hour from the time of our leaving Jerusalem, we
came in view of Bethlehem, and halted to enjoy the interesting sight.
The town appeared covering the ridge of a hill on the southern side of a
deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west; the most
conspicuous object being the monastery, erected over the cave of the
nativity, in the suburbs, and upon the eastern side. The battlements and
walls of this building seemed like those of a vast fortress. The Dead
Sea below, upon our left, appeared so near to us that we thought we
could have rode thither in a very short space of time. Still nearer
stood a mountain upon its western shore, resembling in its form the cone
of Vesuvius near Naples, and having also a crater upon its top which was
plainly discernible. The distance, however, is much greater than it
appears to be; the magnitude of the objects beheld in this fine prospect
causing them to appear less remote than they really are. The atmosphere
was remarkably clear and serene; but we saw none of those clouds of
smoke, which, by some writers, are said to exhale from the surface of
the lake, nor from any neighbouring mountain. Every thing about it was
in the highest degree grand and awful. Bethlehem is six miles from
Jerusalem. Josephus describes the interval between the two cities as
equal only to twenty stadia; and in the passage referred to, he makes an
allusion to a celebrated well, which, both from the account given by him
of its situation, and more especially from the text of the sacred
Scriptures, 2 Sam. xxiii, 15, seems to have contained the identical
fountain, of whose pure and delicious water we were now drinking.
Considered merely in point of interest, the narrative is not likely to
be surpassed by any circumstance of Pagan history. David, being a native
of Bethlehem, calls to mind, during the sultry days of harvest, verse
13, a well near the gate of the town, the delicious waters of which he
had often tasted; and expresses an earnest desire to assuage his thirst
by drinking of that limpid spring. ‘And David longed, and said, O that
one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which
is by the gate!’ The exclamation is overheard by ‘three of the mighty
men whom David had,’ namely, Adino, Eleazar, and Shamnah, verses 8, 9,
11. These men sallied forth, and having fought their way through the
garrison of the Philistines at Bethlehem, verse 14, ‘drew water from the
well that was by the gate,’ on the other side of the town, and brought
it to David. Coming into his presence, they present to him the
surprising testimony of their valour and affection. The aged monarch
receives from their hands a pledge they had so dearly earned, but
refuses to drink of water every drop of which had been purchased with
blood, 2 Sam. xxiii, 17. He returns thanks to the Almighty, who had
vouchsafed the deliverance of his warriors from the jeopardy they had
encountered; and pouring out the water as a libation on the ground,
makes an offering of it to the Lord. The well still retains its pristine
renown; and many an expatriated Bethlehemite has made it the theme of
his longing and regret.”