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Seal Proves Bethlehem Existed Centuries Before Jesus
The 2,700 year old clay seal.
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 2,700-year-old clay seal with the name of Bethlehem, showing that the town existed centuries before it was revered as Jesus' birthplace.
Discovered during the sifting of debris removed from archaeological excavations near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, the coin-sized clay seal, or bulla, was imprinted with three lines in ancient Hebrew script: "in the seventh," "Bethlehem," and "to the king."
"It seems that in the seventh year of the reign of a king (it is unclear if the king referred to is Hezekiah, Manasseh or Josiah), a shipment was dispatched from Bethlehem to the king in Jerusalem," Eli Shukron, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Belonging to the group of "fiscal" bullae, the clay seal was likely placed on a tax shipment of silver or agricultural produce such as wine or wheat which was sent from Bethlehem to the King of Judah in Jerusalem in the 8th or 7th century BC.
"This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible, in an inscription from the First Temple period (1006-586 BC) which proves that Bethlehem was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods," Shukron said.
Located just south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is first mentioned in the Bible in the verse "in Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." It was there that Rachel, the matriarch of the Jewish people, died and was buried.
Bethlehem is also the setting for the Book of Ruth, and the hometown of King David, the most celebrated king in Jewish history. In the New Testament, Bethlehem is mentioned as the birthplace of Jesus.
stfu israel – no one cares what you think
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/245619-Israel-as-Popular-as-North-Korea-According-to-BBC-Poll
@Anonymous-obviously no on gives a fing damn what you think or say!
It is also the birthplace of the second King Herod, according to his mother Barnice as recounted in the Claudius books by Michael Graves.
I am amazed with the gushing Christian intro that King David is also mentioned as he was born there, and thus the Messiah Myth needed a Messiah to be born in Bethlehem. This was a problem in real life when Jesus and his boys came down from Galiliee – “For nothing good comes from Galiliee” and therefore could not be the Messiah becuz he was not born in Bethlehem.
Of course since the Gospel of Mark does not mention the birth at all the author of Matthew felt free to invent the story of the wise men, the fictitious census, the “Law” that required citizens to go to their birthplace (Such a law never existed) and Voila! Jesus born in Bethlehem.
Well, yo could believe the other idiot birth story in Luke where somehow Jesus becomes the cousin of John the Baptist, but both stories reek of pious add-ons.
Clearly the authorities did not believe Jesus was the Messiah becuz he was a Galileean – and furthermore if God had a problem with the religion, well there was a High Priest and a whole pile of other Holy Priests who were more than happy to listen to wot God would say. That God ignored them and talked to a Galilieean was prepossterous, and still is.