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1The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4Eleazar became the father of Phinehas, Phinehas became the father of Abishua, 5Abishua became the father of Bukki. Bukki became the father of Uzzi. 6Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth. 7Meraioth became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 8Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz. 9Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah. Azariah became the father of Johanan. 10Johanan became the father of Azariah, who executed the priest’s office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem. 11Azariah became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 12Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Shallum. 13Shallum became the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah became the father of Azariah. 14Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak. 15Jehozadak went into captivity when Yahweh carried Judah and Jerusalem away by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

16The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. 18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households. 20Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son. 22The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth. 26As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah: Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. 28The sons of Samuel: the firstborn, Joel, and the second, Abijah. 29The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.

31These are they whom David set over the service of song in Yahweh’s house after the ark came to rest there. 32They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting until Solomon had built Yahweh’s house in Jerusalem. They performed the duties of their office according to their order. 33These are those who served, and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, 34the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, 35the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 36the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, 37the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, 38the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 39His brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, 40the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, 41the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, 42the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, 43the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. 44On the left hand their brothers the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, 45the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, 46the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, 47the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 48Their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of God’s house. 49But Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

50These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, 52Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son. 54Now these are their dwelling places according to their encampments in their borders: to the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the first lot), 55to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah, and its pasture lands around it; 56but the fields of the city and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron, Libnah also with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, 58Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, 59Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands; 60and out of the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasture lands, Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.

61To the rest of the sons of Kohath were given by lot, out of the family of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. 62To the sons of Gershom, according to their families, out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. 63To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. 64The children of Israel gave to the Levites the cities with their pasture lands. 65They gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities which are mentioned by name.

66Some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim. 67They gave to them the cities of refuge, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim with its pasture lands and Gezer with its pasture lands, 68Jokmeam with its pasture lands, Beth Horon with its pasture lands, 69Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath Rimmon with its pasture lands; 70and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasture lands, and Bileam with its pasture lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.

71To the sons of Gershom were given, out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands, and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands; 72and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, 73Ramoth with its pasture lands, and Anem with its pasture lands; 74and out of the tribe of Asher, Mashal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, 75Hukok with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands; 76and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, Hammon with its pasture lands, and Kiriathaim with its pasture lands.

77To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its pasture lands, and Tabor with its pasture lands; 78and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, Jahzah with its pasture lands, 79Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; 80and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands, 81Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands.

Place

Bethlehem

Type
City
Location
31.704, 35.207

The Town of Bethlehem

Site Study | Hershel Wayne House | Bethlehem

The town of Bethlehem (House of Bread) lies in the Judean hills about five miles south of Jerusalem. We find the first mention of Bethlehem of Judea in Genesis 35:19 and 48:7.  In Scripture, it is sometimes also called Ephrathah (Mic 5:2). 

This is where Rachel died and was buried according to Genesis 35:19. Her grave now resides in the town of Bethlehem, guarded by the state of Israel. 

The town is also known as the City of David (Luke 2:4), because of his birth there, and also where Samuel anointed David as king (1 Sam 16:4-13). 

Bethlehem takes on special significance because it is to this Judean town that Joseph and Mary traveled to be registered, since Joseph was a descendant of David, under the decree of Caesar Augustus. This is where Jesus was born in fulfillment of Scripture (Luke 2:1-7; Mic 5:2).  Also, Herod sent his soldiers to Bethlehem to have the child Jesus put to death since he viewed him as a rival to his kingdom.

Shepherds in the Fields

Site Study | Hershel Wayne House

About a mile east of Bethlehem, near the village of Beit Sahur is the Greek Orthodox church commemorating the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds. An archaeological survey was conducted at the site in 1972 by Vassilios Tzaferis, who identified evidence that the cave over which the church was built was used as early as the second half of the fourth century A.D. In the cave, he found that the natural rock floor had been leveled, and a mosaic floor was put in. The mosaic floor contained an eight pointed star and equilateral crosses. The presence of crosses means the floor was made before 427, when Emperor Theodosius II forbade this practice.

See also Bethlehem

Bibliography. Finegan, Jack, The Archaeology of the New Testament: The Life of Jesus and the Beginning of the Early Church, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992), 40, 42.

Bethlehem (בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם, bēṯ lāḥem)

Site Study | Brian Kvasnica

Bethlehem resides in the hill country of Judah on the ridge route between Jerusalem and Hebron. To the West of Bethlehem is ample agricultural land and to the east is the Judean Desert – good for shepherding--- which descends down to the Dead Sea. It may be that its location with good farming land brought about the name Beit Lechem – “house of bread,” or the name in Arabic related to shepherding, Beit Lacham, “house of meat.” Both traditions of farming and shepherding play an important place here in the Biblical stories: Boaz had a field which Ruth gleaned from (Ruth 2), David tended Jesse’s sheep (1 Sam 17), and was anointed here by Samuel (1 Sam 16). And, shepherds heard the good news about the Messiah’s birth (Luke 2).

Tel Beit Lehem today is mainly covered by the Nativity Square and the Nativity Church but a small portion of the tel on the east side is still bare and was surveyed in 1969 by Gutman and Berman, confirming both Bronze and Iron Age occupation. While tradition points to a well north of the tel where three of David’s mighty men drew water for David after breaking through the Philistine garrison (2 Sam 23:14,16), the only real water sources came from the southeast in the area of “Solomon’s Pools” or “Artas,” likely biblical Etam (2 Chr 11:6; Greek Apan/Aitan).

Not only was Yeshua (Jesus) born in Bethlehem as Micah 5:2 foretold, but Herod murdered the innocents in the area (Matt 2:8, 16) and Hadrian built a sacred grove to Adonis after pounding the messianic Bar Kochva supporters into submission (Jerome, Ep. ad Paul, lviii.3). Jerome, supported by Paula and her daughter Eustochium, came permanently to Bethlehem in AD 382 to study Hebrew and translate the Hebrew Bible into the common language, Latin. His translation remained the foundation for all Western Scriptural reading for 1600 years.

Multiple excavations by Harvey, Vincent and Abel in the early 1900’s and subsequent studies have revealed three main levels of architectural remains of the Church of the Nativity: an early Roman church represented by floor mosaics from Constantine’s era (about AD 325), a Byzantine Church built by Justinian in the sixth century AD which amazingly still stands today, and Crusader restorations in the twelfth-century AD, as seen in the mosaic decoration on the high walls of the nave. The altar of the Church of the Nativity is built upon a large cave structure that was the venerated place of the Yeshua’s birth already from the second century AD (Justin Martyr and the Protoevangelium of James).

Bethlehem (House of Bread)

Site Study | Daniel G Garland

Bethlehem (House of Bread) is a town in the Judean hills about five miles south of Jerusalem.  In Scripture, it is sometimes called Ephrathah (Micah 5:2).  Rachel died and was buried near Bethlehem, according to Genesis 35:19.  It is the town to which Naomi returned with Ruth (Ruth 1:1, 19).  Called the City of David (Luke 2:4) because of his birth there, Bethlehem is also where Samuel anointed David King (1 Sam 16:4-13).  Because both Joseph and Mary descended from David, Bethlehem is the town to which they traveled to register for taxation under the decree of Caesar Augustus, and where Jesus was born in fulfillment of Scripture (Luke 2:1-7; Micah 5:2).  When Herod tried to kill Jesus by ordering the deaths of male infants two years old and under, Bethlehem became the grisly scene for what has been called the massacre of innocents (Matt 2:16-18).  Bethlehem’s location on the road south to Egypt facilitated Mary and Joseph’s escape with Jesus when warned by an angel of the Lord (Matt 2:13-15)—DG.

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.