FIRST KNOWN RECORD OF BETHLEHEM BEFORE JESUS

Archaeologists uncover proof that Bethlehem existed centuries pre-Jesus
The tiny clay seal is imprinted with three lines of ancient Hebrew script that include the word "Bethlehem"."This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible in an inscription from the First Temple period," the years 1006 BC to 586 BC. The coin-sized remnant of the seal proves that Bethlehem - first mentioned in the Book of Genesis - was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods

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