Bethlehem. — History. In the name of this town (Arab. Bêt Lahm), which has existed for thousands of years, is perpetuated a very ancient popular tradition. In Hebrew the word means the 'place of bread', or, more generally, the 'place of food', and is probably derived from the fact that the region about Bethlehem has from very remote antiquity presented a marked contrast to the surrounding 'wilderness'. ....