Aramaic

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Village name during the Canaanite Period:

Etymology 1

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From בית (bēṯ, house of) +‎ לחמא (laḥamā, the Canaanite goddess of fertility)

Proper noun

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בית לחמא (bēṯ laḥamām

  1. Bethlehem (a city in the West Bank)



Village name during the kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and afterwards through the time of Christ (930 BC and after):

Etymology 2

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From בֵּית (bēṯ, house of) +‎ לַחְמָא (laḥmā, bread).

Proper noun

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בֵּית לַחְמָא (bēṯ laḥmām

  1. Bethlehem (a city in the West Bank)


 
An artist's conception of Maryam (Mary) and Yoseph (Joseph) taking the census in Beit Lachma (Bethlehem), a village in the region of Yehud (Judaea).