Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/16

BETHESDA. situated on the Ophel slope, southeast of the Temple. A cavern below forms a natural syphon, so that the water overllows at delinite periods, when people still bathe in the water, because they believe it will cure their diseases. The fact that sheep were watered at this place may have given rise to the name 'Sheep Hate." Other- wise this gate was situated north of the Temple.

BETH'-HO'RON ( Heb., place of eaves). Two villages of Palestine. !) to 12 miles from .lerusalani, called, respectively, the Uiiper and Lower Beth-Horon. A late statement, but of no value, ascribes the founding of the place to Sheerah, daughter of Ephraim (I. Chron. vii. 24). The importance of Beth-Honm is due to its position on one of the most accessible passes leading from the valley of Ajalon to Jerusalem. The Lower Beth-Iloron stands on a ridge about 1240 feet above the sea-level ; the ri)per, which is about an hour's clind) from the Lower, stands on a mountain spur 1730 feet above the sea. ^"hen Joshua defeated the five kings of the Amoritcs at Gibeon. the road of pursuit passed by Beth-Horon (Joshua x. 11). In later times the place was often fortified, and Judas Mac- cabeus here defeated the Svrian Prince Seron (I. Mace. iii. 13-24; vii. 39-49). The present villages are still known as "Upper' and 'Lower' Beit-ur.

BETHLEHEM (Heb., house or place of bread). Tlic present Brit Lahm, a town about 5 miles south of .Jerusalem and about three- fourths of a mile east of the main road to Hebron (Map: Palestine, C 4). The name is significant of the fertility of the valleys near by, which abound in grain-fields, olive and fig orchards, and vineyards. Bethlehem, anciently included in the district Kphratah, became famous in olden times as the birthplace and early home of King David (Ruth i. 2; iv. 11 ; Gen. xxxv. 10, 19; xlviii. 7: I. Sam. xvii. 12). It was not a place of great importance. -As the birthplace of Jesus (Matt. ii. 1; Luke ii. 1 ff.), Bethlehem was venerated by Christians as early as the Second Century. For this reas(m. probably, Hadrian laid it waste in 132. Constantine the Great, in his zeal for Christianity, revived the place by building there a large, fine basilica (c.330). Since then Bethlehem has been one of the great pilgrim shrines of Palestine. Its present population is about 8000, mostly Christian, as the Mussulman qmirter was destroyed in 1834. At Bethlehem several monastic and educational institutions, Catholic and Protestant, are located.

The centre of interest in Bethlehem is the famous Church of Saint Mary, one of the oldest Christian edifices in the world. Constantine built the church near the supposed site of Jesus' birth. The Gospel of Luke states that the infant Saviour was laid in a manger. Early in the Second Century tradition had it that the manger was in a cave (cf. I'rotcv. James, 18, 19, 21, and Justin M., Oial.. edit. Otto, p. 208), which is not at all improbable. Justinian (527-665) enlarged Constantine's church so that the transept covered the supi)0sed Cave of the Nativity. Other crypts under the building are now connected with scenes of the Infancy. Here, also, are the chapel and grave of Jerome, who wrote the Vulgate in a grotto near by. The church was highly esteemed by the Crusaders. In 1101 Baldwin was crowned in it. In 1170 the Emperor Manuel Comnenus decorated its walls with mosaics. In 1482 Edward IV. and Philip of Burgundy contributed the materials for repairing the roof. At present Greek, Ar- menian, and Roman Catholic monastic estab- lishments inclose the church on the two sides and rear.

BETHLEHEM. A town in Grafton County, X. H., 75 miles north by west of Concord, on the Boston and Maine Railroad (Map: New Hampshire, H 4). It has a fine Iwation over 1450 feet above sea-level, with beautiful views of the White Mountains and a more distant prospect of the Green Mountains. A cool and bracing atmosphere also contributes to the town's popularity as a summer resort. Population, in 1890, 1267"; in 1900, 1201. Consult Bolles. The Early Biston/ of Bethlehem (Woodsville, N. H., 1883).

BETHLEHEM. A borough in Northampton County, Pa., 56 miles north of Philadelphia, on the Lehigh River and Canal, and on the Cen- tral of New Jersey, the Lehigh Valley, and the Philadelphia and" Reading railroads (^lap: Pennsylvania, F 3). Among the more ])romi- nent features are two bridges, about 700 feet long, connecting with South Bethlehem (q.v.), a public library, and Saint Luke's Hospital. The manufacturing interests comprise extensive iron and steel works, zinc-works, graphite-works, silk-mills, knitting-mills, etc. Bethlehem is governed under a charter of 1851, which provides for a mayor, elected every three years, and a borough council. The water-works are owned and o|)er-ated by the niunicipalitv. Population, in 1890, 0702; "in 1900, .7293. Bethlehem was founded by the Moravians (q.v.) in 1742, and soon became the headquarters in America of that sect, which here maintains t)ie fine Churcli of the Nativity, a college and theological seminary, opened in 1807, and a seminary for women. Fnmi December, 1770, to April, 1777, and from September, 1777, to April, 1778, the general hospital of the Continental Army was located here, and in West Bethlehem 500 soldiers were buried. Bethlehem was incorporated in 1845. Consult: Martin, Ilistorieul Sketch of Bethlehem (Philadelphia, 1872), and an article by .lordan, "Bethlehem during the Revolution," in I'ciDisylvania Unqnzine of Ilistori/ and Biography, Vol. XIII. (Philadelphia, 1890').

BETH'LEHEMITES, or BETHLEHEMITE BROTH'ERS. The name of two orders of monks, (1) mentioned by Matthew of Paris as being at Cambridge, England, in 1257, and as wearing a red star with five points and a blue disk in the middle on their breasts, in allusion to the Star of Bethlehem, but otherwise being in dress Dominicans. Nothing more is known of them. (2) An order founded in Guatemala by Peter of Bethencourt (1019-07). which grew out of a con- gregation he collected living under the rule of the Third Order of Saint Francis, and caring especially for the sick and educating children. Its constitution was approved by the Pope in 1672, and the congregation was expanded into an order in 1087 and put under the rule of the Augustinians. They dress similarly to Ihe Ca- pucliins, and carry on their right breast a shield with a re|)resentation of the manger at Bethlehem, and near it Mary and Joseph. They are