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There is nothing in the T'nach (bible) that says the messiah will be born in or even arrive in בֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם / Beit Lĕḥĕm (aka Bethlehem). The Christian bible misuses the words of the prophet Michah / Micah who said that the messiah will be a descendant of King David. It was David who was of Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah. "And David was the son of this Ephraitite man from the House of Lĕḥĕm (Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah, aka Bethlehem) of Judah." Shmuel Alef / 1 Samuel 17:12 The prophet Micah was not prophesying that the messiah will be born in the town of Bethlehem. There is no prophecy that the messiah will be born in Bethlehem -- or even where the messiah might be born. The prophet Micah was stating that the messiah will be a descendant of King David (which Jesus was not if one believes in the virgin birth since lineage only passes from the biological father -- and G-d is not a son of David!). Michah / Micah 5:1 (2 in Christian translations) says “But as for you, Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah... (there were two Bethlehems - Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah was in the land of the tribe of Judah and the other was in the Galilee) you are too small to be among the thousands of Judah (so small you aren't even counted)- (but) from you [the messiah] shall emerge for Me, to be a ruler over Israel; and his origin is from of old, from early times (days of old).” So there is no prophecy that the messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Just how many people do you suppose were born in Bethlehem? People are still born there -- Bethlehem of Judah still exists. Again -- something as ordinary as a person being born somewhere -- something that "fits" tens of thousands if not more -- is not and cannot be a messianic prophecy. On top of misstating that the messiah will be born in Bethlehem of Judah (based on incorrectly applying the words of Micah) the anonymous author of the book of Matthew misquotes Micah -- and REVERSES what the prophet wrote. The Christian translations start Micah 5 with the last sentence from the previous chapter. Line 4:14 in the T'nach reads "Now you shall gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; he has laid siege to us. With a rod they strike the judges of Israel on the cheek." Christian translations call this line 1 of chapter 5 -- but this is either sloppy translation or outright deceit. We know this is the last line of chapter 4, and not the firs tline of chapter 5 (as in Christian versions) because line 4:14 is separated from 5:1 (the sentence about Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah by a paragraph-break in the Hebrew text. This paragraph-break means it is a new section. The application of Line 4:14 is “quoted” by Matthew as if it is the first line of a new chapter and thus part of a "prophecy" about Jesus -- and this seems to have been a purposeful dishonesty because Matthew reverses what Micah actually says by ignoring that paragraph-break. The prophet Micah states clearly that the Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah was a small, unimportant place -- so small that it was “too small to be reckoned among the ‘thousands’ of Judah.” (meaning it had to have fewer than 1000 citizens). Even though it is a small, insignificant place King David was born there -- and the messiah will eventually come from the line of David -- this insignificant boy from an insignificant town. Matthew totally reverses Micah, saying ""'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Got that? Micah: “But as for you, Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah... you are too small to be among the thousands of Judah (so small you aren't even counted)- Matthew: "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" We seem to be in opposite land! So, while in this season many sing of the "Little Town of Bethlehem" and picture Jesus being born there to fulfill a prophecy that the messiah will be born there -- you have been duped. Matthew lied when he wrote "When he (Herod) had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’" There is no such prophecy of where the messiah will be born. The prophet did not write that Bethlehem of Judah was "by no means least" -- he wrote the opposite! UriYosef has written an interesting article entitled "O Little Town of Bethlehem -- of Galilee" which is worth reading. He writes "Two distinct geographical places named בֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם / Beit Lĕḥĕm (aka Bethlehem) are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible: One, the familiar city that is located in the territory of the Tribe of Judah, is referenced on 40 occasions. The other, a more obscure one referenced only once (as one of the 12 named cities in the territory of the Tribe of Zebulun), is located in the lower Galilee some four miles (approximately 7 kilometers) northwest of Nazareth. . . Uri notes that archaeological studies show that the town in Judah (the one mentioned in the Book of Matthew) appears unoccupied in the time frame Jesus was supposedly born there. From 37 BCE to 70 CE there is zero archaeological evidence that anyone lived there. There was another Bethlehem -- this one located in the Galilee -- and not that far from Nazareth. This would mean that Matthew named the wrong town (not Judah, but Galilee) -- and that this town was not the one mentioned by the prophet Micah. I do recommend reading Uri's article. His summary lists points worth repeating here:
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