apexviper13 Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 I understand people have criticized the Book of Mormon about Jesus' birthplace due to the following verse:Alma 7:10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.I read one of the Amarna Letters, letter 290, and it authenticates the statement Alma 7:10 makes.To the king, my lord, say: Thus ‘Abdi-Kheba [king of Jerusalem], your servant. At the two feet of the [king,] my lord, seven times and seven times I fall. Behold the deed which Milkilu and Shuwardata did to the land of the king, mylord! They rushed troops of Gezer, troops of Gath, and troops of Keilah; they took the land of Rubutu; the land of the king went over to the ‘Apiru people. But now even a town in the land of Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi [bethlehem] by name, a town belonging to the king, has gone over to the side of the people of Keilah. Let my king listen to ‘Abdi-Kheba, your servant, and let him send archers to recover the royal land for the king! But if there are no archers, the land of the king will pass over to the ‘Apiru people. This was done at the command of Milkilu [and at] the command of Shuwardata[... ] so let my king take care of his land!I'll pull out the part that's relevant: "But now even a town in the land of Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi [bethlehem] by name, a town belonging to the king"As it says, Bethlehem is a town in the land of Jerusalem. Also, go to Matthew 2. Yes, it says Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Where does it first say the wise men went? Jerusalem. Why? Because Bethlehem is a town in Jerusalem.I figured this would be good to share for those that run into people that ask about this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyKay Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 This was explained to me is that Bethlehem was a suburb of Jerusalem much like here near Houston, Texas... we have the suburbs of Jersey Village, Cypress, Bellaire, etc. Houston has many suburbs, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipplecutBuddha Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Another interesting point is that the verse is a very Hebraic method of writing, in the way of expressing a location. Given that Bethlehem is still less than five miles from the old city walls of Jerusalem, or so I recall being told, remember that Israel at the time was not a very big country, and keeping major cities within walking distance was common throuought the region. Add to that the fact that Jerusalem was the capital city, and that pretty much seals it. I mean when you're talking about Washington DC, are you going to specify the suburb, or just leave it at 'DC'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Peopel need to understand that it would be over 2,000 years before Google maps would place local and mobile listing based on zip codes - so anyone doing standard searches should use Jerusalem until then. The Traveler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexviper13 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Peopel need to understand that it would be over 2,000 years before Google maps would place local and mobile listing based on zip codes - so anyone doing standard searches should use Jerusalem until then.The TravelerI agree. I'm pretty sure that within 2000 years someone will map locations incorrectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexviper13 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 This was explained to me is that Bethlehem was a suburb of Jerusalem much like here near Houston, Texas... we have the suburbs of Jersey Village, Cypress, Bellaire, etc. Houston has many suburbs, lol.Yep. Here it's pretty much Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Judah. That would be the location Jesus was born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 I agree. I'm pretty sure that within 2000 years someone will map locations incorrectly. I think you missed my point. In the last year Google has been about “indexing” the definition of “place”. Up until this year Google mapped a person living in Millcreek as part of Salt Lake City. Nobody outside of the Salt Lake City area (unless they use to live there) has any clue where Millcreek is and the postal address still says Salt Lake City - But Google now maps Millcreek outside of Salt Lake City.The internet is changing how we think and soon someone that dislikes LDS will find a new excuse to dislike us (and others) even more.The Traveler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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