That’s what Bethlehem is: a place that guards the water.
#How old is jesus series
It’s a fortress town amongst a series of villages, which is why the Bible always talks about the best tasting water coming from Bethlehem. They needed fresh water and this came from Bethlehem.īethlehem was built specifically to sit on top of the aquifer and be the defensive military installation guarding the whole infrastructure. The older water supply was contaminated by the animals slaughtered in the temple. There were so many Jewish pilgrims coming to Jerusalem that the city couldn’t cope. It’s so fertile because Bethlehem sits on an enormous aquifer, which eventually became the water source for Jerusalem in around 200 BCE. Though it is perched on a hilltop, water has played a key role in Bethlehem’s history, hasn’t it?īethlehem is a collection of very fertile villages that grows almonds and, more importantly, olives for oil.
#How old is jesus free
This lifestyle gave them enough free time to sit down and start thinking about sex-and carving some sculptures. In the hills they can grow almonds, which were the first trees to be cultivated. In the springtime, when the lambs are born, there’s grass for about two weeks, so they can feed their sheep. They were nomads who found that if they stayed in one spot, they could have everything they needed. The people who created this sculpture, the Natufians as they’re now called, are an example of this. Karen Armstrong has a theory of world history before history gets written, where nomads track across the desert eventually establishing towns as they go, creating little pockets of their civilization and telling stories about themselves. Archaeologists dated it to the Stone Age-11,000 years ago-and it’s the earliest depiction we have of people making love. It became evident that it was two people having sex. There’s a route up from the Dead Sea in an area called Ain Sakhri, and in caves there, in the 1930s, some Bedouin shepherd boys found a small stone carving. Tell us about the Ain Sakhri lovers -and the work of biblical historian, Karen Armstrong.īethlehem is very close to the Dead Sea. Though less famous, it is also the location for another momentous cultural event: the first artistic portrayal of two humans making love. Where is the tomb of Jesus Christ? Is the site worshipped today the same one that was discovered during the time of Constantine? Find out how scientists used archaeology and other dating methods to solve one of history's greatest mysteries. This was on display at one point, and it fits the picture of a town where the water supply is the most important thing. But it sounds more likely to have been a trough than a manger. When pilgrims visited later, after Rome had become Christian, people did describe a manger. We also have these very specific descriptions of what the town was like at the time. Pilgrims visiting Bethlehem within about 100 years of Christ’s birth already believed Christ was born there. It’s difficult to say which of these, or either, is true. According to the Bible, Mary and Joseph either came to Bethlehem for a census, or they already lived there. But there’s lots of evidence in its favor.
It is impossible to say that the archaeology confirms Christ was born there. Does the historical and archaeological record confirm this? This quintessentially British dish turned out to be absolutely Middle Eastern! Bethlehem is, of course, famous as the birthplace of Jesus. And everything that doesn’t grow there, I learned, had been carried through the desert in ancient times by desert traders on the spice route. The lemons were in fruit there were oranges, figs, and almonds. Leila’s father was looking at the ingredients and realized everything in the pudding was growing in his garden that Christmas. So I came carrying a Christmas pudding from Harrods. I was determined to bring something of England, thinking of Christmas and Charles Dickens. I knew nothing about Bethlehem or Palestine or the politics, but I was in love with Leila and we were going to get married, so I went to Bethlehem to meet her family. Her mother’s Russian, her father is Palestinian and was one of a group of academics that founded Bethlehem University.
I met my wife, Leila Sansour, at university in Britain where we were both studying philosophy. Explain why it captures “something of the essence of Bethlehem”-and how an Englishman ended up on the West Bank. The book opens with you arriving in Bethlehem carrying a Christmas pudding.
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