How Far Is Nazareth To Bethlehem

December 23, 2019

Biblical Geography, Christmas

Luke two:4 indicates that Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem in guild to participate in a census. What kind of trip would that accept entailed?

Nazareth is located in the hills along the northern edge of the Jezreel Valley. In the days of Jesus information technology was a small, back-water village. Archaeologists guess it had a population of not more than 200 people, meaning Mary would have known everyone in boondocks. It was located near a fresh-water spring that in later days became known as the place where the annunciation was made to Mary.

Mary's well every bit information technology may have looked in the 1st century AD, past Vasily Polenov.

Bethlehem was located far to the due south, in the region of Judah. Information technology was also a small town, located on a hill about 5 miles s of Jerusalem. Information technology was probable almost the same size and population as Nazareth.

Aerial photo of Bethlehem, 1931.

In that location are two reasonable routes that Mary and Joseph could have taken to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The shortest route would have been to become directly southward. This route would take crossed the Jezreel valley so followed the ridge southward toward Jerusalem. This route would have covered nearly 70 miles. The drawback of this route was that it took travelers through the heart of Samaria, a region that was home to the half-Jewish Samaritans. In fact, this route passed between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim near Shechem; the Samaritans had built a temple atop Mount Gerizim that was a copy of the temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritan woman at the well that talked to Jesus even pointed to that temple, request Jesus whether God should be worshiped there or in Jerusalem (John 4).

The alternative was to bypass Samaria on the due east. This required traveling forth a road that moved down the Harod valley to the Jordan valley on the east, moving south to Jericho, and so climbing upwardly the road to Jerusalem. The drawback of this route is that it was closer to 90 miles in length. Also, the ascent from Jericho to Jerusalem was steep and passed through some rather rough country (this is where the Jewish man cruel among thieves, to be rescued by the Good Samaritan, Luke 10). These two routes are plotted on the map below, which is adapted from the ESV Bible Atlas, map 101.

Possible routes taken by Mary and Joseph as they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem; adjusted from the ESV Bible Atlas, map 101.

The text does not land which route Joseph and Mary took. Either would likely accept taken about a week. Incidentally, although it is mutual for artists to depict Mary and Joseph making this journey alone (meet below), this seems highly unlikely. A woman as far along in pregnancy as Mary would surely take been accompanied by several female relatives to assist her and assist in the birth, should that be necessary. Although these companions are not specifically mentioned in the text, information technology is most inconceivable that they were not there.

The Road to Bethlehem, past Joseph Brickey.

Source: https://crossroadsbible.net/2019/12/23/marys-trip-from-nazareth-to-bethlehem/

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