Joshua 15:60

Kirjath Baal. Before these words the LXX . insert the names of eleven more cities, among which Tekoah and Bethlehem are included. For the former see 2 Samuel 14:2 ; 2 Chronicles 11:6 ; 2 Chronicles 20:20 . The prophet Amos was one of its herdsmen ( Amos 1:1 ). We learn from 1 Macc 9:33, etc; that it was near Jordan, and had a waste district in its vicinity. It has been identified with Teku'a, two hours south of Bethlehem. Of Bethlehem itself, the home of Ruth and David, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, it is unnecessary to speak. But the incidents related concerning Bethlehem in 17:1-13 ; 19:1-30 . (which seem to indicate that the author of the book had special information about Bethlehem), as well as the narrative of the Book of Ruth, lead us to suppose that the verse inserted here by the LXX . is genuine, since Bethlehem was, in early times, a town of sufficient importance to be noticed in a list like this, and that its omission in the Hebrew text is due to the mistake of some transcriber.