This lavishly illustrated book describes in detail the history and culture, religion and traditions, as well as the political situation of Bethlehem today and the everyday lives of Palestinians at the end of the twentieth century.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but why Bethlehem? Why should God purpose to become man somewhere so marginal, so insignificant? This book follows the unfolding story of Bethlehem through the Bible, from the death of Rachel to the birth of Jesus, uniquely combining four perspectives: a) the Bible as one developing story, b) the Bible as a Middle Eastern book, c) insights from contemporary Palestinians from Bethlehem, and d) what this means for mission. Suffering Rachel, refugee Rahab, vulnerable Ruth, overlooked David all have a connection with Bethlehem. If Bethlehem shelters refugees, then so must we. If Bethlehem welcomes strangers, so must we. If Bethlehem weeps at injustice, and takes a stand against empire, so must we. What we see in Bethlehem’s story, we apply to our own stories. We enter into Bethlehem’s story with as much cultural and geographical colour and flavour as we can muster in order to feel the crises, taste the dust, hear the lambs bleating on the hillside. And there we find the Christ-child, son of David, the Good Shepherd, Lion of Judah, Bread of Life, Lamb of God, fulfilling all the recurring themes, taking his inevitable place as rightful king.

The content of the autobiography of Adnan A. Musallam, PhD, transcends his birth and upbringing in a Christian Palestinian Arab family in Bethlehem, the Holy Land, and his traumatic childhood and goes beyond that into another very different culture in America at an early age, where he lived as an exchange student with five Rotary families while attending Wabash High School in Wabash, Indiana, from 1962 to 1963. It was a continuous adjustment as he was moving from one very kind family to another. The high school diploma he got in June 1963 paved the way for his BA (1967), MA (1970), at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana and Ph.D. (1983) at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Michigan. But the ups and downs of life in Indiana and Michigan led to a divorce and led him to enlist in the United States Navy in January 1975. At the end of active duty in May 1977, he was awarded a United States Navy Achievement Medal; and he was enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Eventually, he joined the teaching staff at Bethlehem University in the Holy Land beginning in September 1981, and he taught history at the Tour Guide Program at Bethlehem Bible College. Adnan is married to Salwa Sayeh, who both have five daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Appendix A and appendix B revolve around Adnan's stay in Wabash, while appendix C focuses on his membership in the Delta Chi fraternity at Indiana University, and appendix D deals with Adnan's career and thought. It is clear from the content of Adnan's autobiography that his life and thought are closely intertwined with the Palestinian Israeli conflict, 1948-present. 44

Also included is a brief history by Lance Metz, the historian of the National Canal Museum and the foremost authority on the history of the plant."--BOOK JACKET.