I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John 6:48–51
Bethlehem sits five miles south of Jerusalem, and it literally means “House of Bread” (Beth-Lehem) in Hebrew. It’s also called Ephrath, which means “fruitful.” It is the birthplace of Jesus Christ (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:1–8). This place name foreshadowed Christ’s identity as the living bread. Just as manna saved Moses’ people, Christ’s birth offered salvation. Furthermore, being laid in a manger—a trough used to hold food for animals—symbolically identified the Christ child as the “food offering” and the spiritual sustenance for all Heavenly Father’s children.
C.S. Lewis noted: “Why did the Lord pick Bethlehem? This was David’s hometown, a village that had enjoyed a long association with David’s ancestors, including his great-grandmother, Ruth. To think about Bethlehem was to think about David. To think about David meant to think about the powerful promise the Lord had given him. One of David’s descendants would rise to sit on Israel’s throne and rule an eternal kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12–16). Thus, an important link was forged through family history and prophecy. From the town of Bethlehem, which means ‘house of bread,’ would come King Jesus who said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry’ (John 6:35)” (cslewisinstitute.org).
He chose to be born in Bethlehem, adjoining Jerusalem. Why Bethlehem? Is there symbolic significance in the meaning of the name Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means ‘house of bread’? The Great Provider declared Himself to be the ‘bread of life.’ (See John 6:48.) How appropriate it was that He, the ‘bread of life,’ was to come from the “house of bread.”
President Russell M. Nelson
Word Origin
Hebrew: Bethlehem is a composite of two words – bayit and lechem. While bayit (בית) means “house” in Hebrew, the term also described a type of protective enclosure. This word described temples, animal pens, and even entire families. For example, the “house of David” is his family.
Lechem (לחם) is “bread”. The second part lechem is widely understood to mean food, grain, or bread. Covenants in the Middle East were traditionally made while breaking bread. This connection emphasizes the covenantal meaning of the bread, because Christ completes that divine offering.
The broader meaning is interesting to consider in the context of the sacrament. By partaking of the bread, we show our willingness to accept Christ’s name and become part of Christ’s family.
The sacrament relates to making covenants primarily as an ordinance of remembrance, renewal, and witness of the covenant relationship believers have with Jesus Christ and God. The act of partaking of the broken bread is directly tied to remembering Christ’s sacrificial body, which underpins the covenant of salvation. The word “companion” comes from the Latin com–panis, meaning “one who breaks bread with another”. Sharing bread transforms strangers into companions.
Ancient covenants were traditionally made when the parties broke bread together. Inviting a stranger into the home was a duty of hospitality, which forged covenant-like bonds between families from different regions. Families who hosted travelers often depended on their former guests to host them if they were traveling to the guests’ region.
Through partaking of the bread, we become part of Bethlehem, “the house of bread”. Equally fascinating is how bayit connects with the shepherd’s image, gathering his flock in a safe enclosure. Imagine the image of the harvest, and the harvesters gathering wheat to protect it from storms. Similarly, we are gathered in Christ’s house for protection. Every Latter-day Saint chapel is also a Bethlehem, “house of bread,” because of the Sacrament.
Illustration
Dennis Miller wrote, “This well-known carol [“O Little Town Of Bethlehem”] was written by the Rev. Phillips Brooks. He was probably the greatest American preacher of the 19th century. A giant teddy bear of a man. He stood 6’4. He was Boston-born and Harvard-educated. And at the young age of 26, he became pastor of the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. Not long after his arrival, the church exploded in growth. They began with 30 children and within a year there were 1000.
“But the Civil War came and the mood in the church changed. Several of the men in his congregation were killed in battle. (Let us remember the largest battle in the war was only 125 miles away at Gettysburg.) Brooks tried to be inspirational and encourage his congregation, but it was draining him.
“In April of 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford’s Theater and the pain intensified. Phillips Brooks was not the President’s pastor, but when the president’s body arrived in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 29-year-old Brooks preached the eulogy and the eulogy went viral, as it was reprinted and circulated throughout the United States.
“After this, he became well known and famous, but he was so burned out that he could not rekindle his own spiritual flame. So, he asked the church for a sabbatical and took a journey to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve 1865, he was in Jerusalem. He then mounted a horse and went off riding south into the Judean desert. At dusk, when the first stars were out, he rode into the tiny village of Bethlehem. It was from that journey to Bethlehem, that he wrote the words to the beloved carol, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’”.
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven
No ear may hear His coming
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still
The dear Christ enters in
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
