We still have no evidence that Jesus was ever in Nazareth or in Bethlehem, the two towns featured in the Christmas story. In fact, one of Alexandre's statements is classic archaeological hyperbole fed to a gullible press: "It was likely Jesus and his childhood friends would have known the house." Oh, really? Based on what? If anything, this new discovery shows how minor a place Nazareth was and draws new light to a central paradox of the Christmas narrative: Why would a pregnant mother from the Galilee travel as far south as Bethlehem to have a child? Read more
Ed ~ it seems likely that Bethlehem, the one situated in the region of Galilee and not Judea, is the likely place Christ was born The village in Zebulun, in northern Israel is usually referred to as Bethlehem of the Galilee, or in Hebrew as Bethlehem Hagalilit.
An archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority recently conducted has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman period were discovered for the first time in an excavation, which was carried out prior to the construction of the "International Marian Centre of Nazareth" by the the Association Mary of Nazareth, next to the Church of the Annunciation. Read more