Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching

...ve and give birth to a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which means God with us." This clearly signifies that the promise made to the forefathers was fulfilled, that the Son of God was born of a virgin, and that He Himself was the Christ the Savior whom the prophets had foretold. It counters the claims of those who say that Jesus was merely the one born of Mary and that Christ descended from above. Matthew might have said, "Now the birth of Jesus was in this way;" but the Holy Ghost, anticipating and guarding against false interpretations, states through Matthew, "But the birth of Christ was in this way;" and asserts that He is Emmanuel, to prevent us from seeing Him as just a man. For, "not by the will of the flesh nor by the will of man, but by the will of God was the Word made flesh;" and so that we would not separate Jesus from Christ, but understand them to be one and the same.

Tatian, The Diatessaron Direct teaching

...n city. Joseph also went up from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and tribe of David. He went with Mary, his betrothed, who was pregnant, to be registered there. While she was there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them where they were staying.

Anonymous, Treatise on Re-Baptism Direct teaching

For that our Lord was born, and that He was the Christ, appeared by many reasons to be believed, not unjustly, by His disciples, because He had been born of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, and in the city of Bethlehem;

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Twelve Topics on the Faith Direct teaching

For He was born in Bethlehem according to the flesh, in a manner meet for Deity, the angels of heaven recognising Him as their Lord, and hymning as their God Him who was then wrapped in swaddling-clothes in a manger, and exclaiming, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among men.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching

...infants became martyrs, killed according to the Scriptures, for the sake of Christ, who was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the city of David.

Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews Direct teaching

For He was from the native soil of Bethlehem, and from the house of David;

Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna Supporting witness

IV. Therefore the prophet brought the virgin from Nazareth, in order that she might give birth at Bethlehem to her salvation-bestowing child, and brought her back again to Nazareth, in order to make manifest to the world the hope of life.

Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna Supporting witness

IV. Therefore the prophet brought the virgin from Nazareth, so that she might give birth in Bethlehem to her child who brings salvation, and brought her back again to Nazareth, so that the hope of life might be made known to the world. For this reason the ark of God moved from the inn at Bethlehem. For there He paid to the law that debt of the forty days, due not to justice but to grace, and rested on the mountains of Zion. There, receiving into her pure bosom, as on a lofty throne and one beyond the nature of man, the Monarch of all, she presented Him there to God the Father as the joint-partner of His throne and inseparable from His nature, together with that pure and undefiled flesh which He had assumed from her substance. The holy mother goes up to the temple to show to the law a new and strange wonder, that child long expected, who opened the virgin's womb and yet did not break the barriers of virginity; that child who was above the law and yet fulfilled the law; that child who was at once before the law and yet after it; that child, in short, who was incarnate from her beyond the law of nature. For in other cases, every womb is first opened by union with a man and, being made

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness

But so that there may be no doubt in your mind about why we call Him Jesus Christ, who was born of God before the world and was born of man three hundred years ago, I will briefly explain the reason to you. The same person is the Son of God and the son of man. For He was born twice. First, He was born of God, in the spirit, before the beginning of the world. Afterward, He was born in human flesh, during the reign of Augustus. In this fact there is a great and glorious mystery. In it are contained the salvation of mankind, the religion of the Most High God, and all truth. For when the cursed and wicked worship of gods first crept in through the treachery of the demons, then the religion of God remained with the Hebrews alone. They observed the worship handed down to them through successive generations, not by any law, but according to the custom of their fathers, until the time when they went out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, the first of all the prophets. Through him the law was given to them by God, and afterward they were called Jews. Therefore they served God, being bound by the chains of the law. But they too gradually went astray to profane rites. They took up the wo

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Twelve Topics on the Faith Supporting witness

...w could anyone say that Christ appeared in the world only as a mere appearance, when He was born in Bethlehem, submitted to the circumcision of the flesh, was lifted up by Simeon, was brought up to His twelfth year at home, was made subject to His parents, was baptized in the Jordan, was nailed to the cross, and was raised again from the dead?

Julius Africanus, Extant Writings Supporting witness

...o proclaim those mighty things which we know to have happened in our country on the occasion of His birth; and do you tell us to take your bribes, and conceal the things that have been made known to us by the Divinity who is above the heavens, and neglect the commandments of our proper King?" And after pressing many arguments on us, they gave the matter up. And when the king of Judaea sent for us, and had some conversation with us, and asked us certain questions about the statements we made to him, we acted in the same way, until he was thoroughly angry at our replies. Therefore we left him, without paying any more attention to him than to any common person.

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

Now the Scripture speaks, respecting the place of the Saviour's birth — that the Ruler was to come forth from Bethlehem— in the following manner: And you Bethlehem, house of Ephrata, are not the least among the thousands of Judah: for out of you shall He come forth unto Me who is to be Ruler in Israel;

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Direct teaching

Even the place of His birth was predicted in the prophecies of Micah, who said, And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, art by no means small among the leaders of Judah: for out of you shall come forth a Leader, who shall rule My people Israel.

Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews Supporting witness

Therefore, since the sons of Israel claim that we are in error for accepting the Christ who has already come, let us make our case against them from the Scriptures themselves. Our point is that the Christ foretold in prophecy has come. Indeed, by the times given in Daniel's prophecy, we have proved that the Christ who was announced has already come. Now He had to be born in Bethlehem of Judah. For this is what is written in the prophet: "And you, Bethlehem, are not the least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come a Leader who shall feed My people Israel." But if He has not yet been born, who was that leader who was announced as coming from the tribe of Judah, out of Bethlehem? For He must come from the tribe of Judah and from Bethlehem. But we see that now no one of the race of Israel remains in Bethlehem. This has been so ever since the order was given forbidding any of the Jews to remain within the borders of that district. This also fulfilled the prophetic word completely: "Your land is desolate, your cities burned with fire"—that is, he is foretelling what would happen to them in time of war—"strangers shall eat up your region before your eyes, and it shall be de

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

for which reason it is related that Herod, on inquiring at the chief priests and scribes of the people, heard from them that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, whence David was.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

“Now this king Herod, at the time when the Magi came to him from Arabia, and said they knew from a star which appeared in the heavens that a King had been born in your country, and that they had come to worship Him, learned from the elders of your people that it was thus written regarding Bethlehem in the prophet: ‘And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah;

Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews Supporting witness

For thus it is written in the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, are not the least in the leaders of Judah: for out of you shall issue a Leader who shall feed my People Israel.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness

...of Judah that the Son of God shall come, who is God, and who was from Bethlehem, where the Lord was born and will send out His praise throughout all the earth, thus says the prophet Habakkuk: “God shall come from the south, and the Holy One from Mount Ephraim. His power covered the heavens over, and the earth is full of His praise. Before His face shall go forth the Word, and His feet shall advance in the plains.” Thus he clearly indicates that He is God and that His coming was to take place in Bethlehem, and from Mount Ephraim, which is towards the south of the inheritance, and that He is man. For he says, “His feet shall advance in the plains,” and this is a characteristic proper to man.

Micah 5:2 Background

But 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 from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:5 Background

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

John 7:42 Background

Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”

Matthew 1:18 Background

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:1 Background

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Matthew 2:6 Background

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Luke 2:4 Background

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Direct teaching

...in the village, he stayed in a cave near the village. While they were there, Mary gave birth to the Christ and laid Him in a manger, and this was where the Magi from Arabia found Him. I have shared with you,” I continued, “what Isaiah foretold about the sign foreshadowing the cave; but for the benefit of those accompanying us today, I will remind you of the passage.” Then I repeated the passage from Isaiah I have already written, adding that the words stirred those who presided over the mysteries of Mithras, incited by the devil, to claim that they were initiated by him in a place they called a cave. When the Magi from Arabia did not return to Herod as he had asked, but instead went back to their own country by another path, following the command given to them; and when Joseph, Mary, and the Child had gone into Egypt as revealed to them; since Herod did not know which Child the Magi had visited to worship, he simply ordered all the children in Bethlehem to be killed. Jeremiah prophesied this, speaking by the Holy Ghost: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and much wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted because they are not.’ Therefore, beca

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

...ys, were fanatics and mob leaders, and who claimed that they had come from heaven, unless it were clearly shown that He had been born in Bethlehem, or, as another might say, had come forth from Bethlehem to be the leader of the people. With respect to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, if anyone desires, after the prophecy of Micah and after the history recorded in the Gospels by the disciples of Jesus, to have additional evidence from other sources, let him know that, in agreement with the narrative in the Gospel regarding His birth, the cave where He was born is shown at Bethlehem, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes. And this sight is greatly talked of in the surrounding places, even among the enemies of the faith, it being said that in this cave was born that Jesus who is worshipped and reverenced by the Christians. Moreover, I think that before the coming of Christ, the chief priests and scribes of the people, because of the distinctness and clearness of this prophecy, taught that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. And this opinion had also become widespread among the Jews. For this reason, it is related that Herod, when inquiring of the

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

With respect to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, if any one desires, after the prophecy of Micah and after the history recorded in the Gospels by the disciples of Jesus, to have additional evidence from other sources, let him know that, in conformity with the narrative in the Gospel regarding His birth, there is shown at Bethlehem the cave where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

But when the Child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village;

Tatian, The Diatessaron Background

23 Luke 2:15 And when the angels departed from them to heaven, the shepherds spoke to one another and said, We will go to Bethlehem and see this word which has been, as 24 the Lord made known unto us.

Luke 2:7 Background

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:16 Background

And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Luke 2:12 Background

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.