Archeologist claims that Jesus' birthplace is in a different location | DW News

Bethlehem is widely celebrated as the birthplace of Jesus droves of pilgrims and Taurus visit the Palestinian City in the West Bank to see The Grotto that Believers Revere as the spot where Jesus was born but one Israeli archaeologist thinks everyone's got it wrong and he's not alone his team has spent years collecting artifacts in another Bethlehem that's in Israel's Galilee it's just down the road from the ancient city of Nazareth he says his findings prove that Joseph and a heavily pregnant Mary walked just seven kilometers not 150 to the manger where the Christian Messiah was born it's a well-known tale of a young family in need of a boy whose birth began the Christian narrative and founded an entirely new religion Joseph and the heavily pregnant Mary travel from their home in Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem near Jerusalem or so the story goes but not everyone agrees on the details what are the chances that a nine month pregnant woman would ride on a donkey from Nazareth to to Bethlehem Judea archaeologist aviram oshri spent 11 years Excavating another Bethlehem of the Galilee not far from Nazareth he says three key findings prove this is the real birthplace of Jesus this is the Bethlehem because Justinian in the 6th Century built a wall around Bethlehem and there is no wall in the other wetland a nearby tomb he says shows the Jews had settled in this area during that period and he points towards Jerusalem we know that Jesus was born as a Jew leave as a Jew and died as a Jew so there should be community living in the site where he was born and there is no traces archaeological traces of inhabitants in the Roman period in the other Bethlehem plus the remnants of a big and important church he believes are proof this Bethlehem was once an important place for Christians his thesis though hasn't gained much traction these are the remains of the here in the traditional Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank there's more at stake than historical truth or where exactly Mary Joseph and baby Jesus found refuge for centuries this has been a place of pilgrimage of Tourism and of course big business but that's not what's important to religious leaders here it's not only by the buildings it's not only by uh maybe the the the things that we're looking for exactly that this is the right place but it's my belief and by faith and this is the most important thing Ashley is committed to his theory and vows to keep promoting it he claims it's supported by facts and logic But ultimately he agrees that for the billion plus Christian faithful whether there or here will all come down to a matter of faith

Channel: DW News

Views: 63,061

Keywords: DW News, bethlehem, jesus

Id: y0FEut8gRIs

Length: 3min 19sec (199 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 26 2022