Where was Jesus born?
According to the Bible, Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The most detailed account is in Luke chapter 2: because of a census decreed by the Roman emperor Augustus, Joseph, who lived in Nazareth, travels with Mary, to whom he is pledged, to Bethlehem, the town of…
According to the Bible, Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The most detailed account is in Luke chapter 2: because of a census decreed by the Roman emperor Augustus, Joseph, who lived in Nazareth, travels with Mary, to whom he is pledged, to Bethlehem, the town of his ancestors; there Mary gives birth and lays the baby in a manger, because there is no room in the guest quarters. Matthew's Gospel confirms the same place and tells how, after the birth, Magi from the east searching for the child born "King of the Jews" are directed first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem. At that point Matthew quotes the prophet Micah from the Old Testament: it had been written centuries earlier that the ruler who would shepherd Israel would come from Bethlehem. Bethlehem's role in the story is not incidental: the town is King David's hometown, directly tied to the expectation that the Messiah would come from David's line; Luke expressly notes that Joseph was "of the house and family of David." The place where Jesus grew up, however, was not Bethlehem but Nazareth in Galilee, which is why the Gospels call him "Jesus of Nazareth." The other scenes of the birth narrative — the news given to the shepherds, the praise of the angelic host — can be read in Luke 2. Bethlehem lies in the present-day West Bank and remains a visited center with the Church of the Nativity. The related chapters can be read on this site, and the Advent reading plan follows the birth narrative day by day.