Nativity of Jesus – The birthplace of Divine Infant in Bethlehem

Βirth of Jesus is described in the Biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, his mother Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not his biological father, and that his birth was caused by divine intervention. The Gospel of Luke states that Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger “because there was no place for them in the inn”.

**Façade of the Church of the Nativity / Image: via bethlehem-city.org/churchofthenativity**

The date of birth for Jesus of Nazareth is not stated in the gospels or in any secular text, but a majority of scholars assume a date between 6 BC and 4 BC. The historical evidence is too ambiguous to allow a definitive dating, but the date has been estimated through known historical events mentioned in the Gospels of Luke chapter 2 and Matthew or by working backwards from the estimated start of the ministry of Jesus.

The Church of the Nativity inside the town, built by St. Helena, contains the cave-manger site traditionally venerated as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.