ÂW, BETHLEHEM!

Bible-ah hian Be­thlehem khaw pahnih a lang a. Pakhat - a lãr lo záwk chu Galili biala Zebulun ram chan chhûnga mi a ni a; Nazareth hmàr thlang lam mêl 7 vêla hlaah a awm. Rorêltute zînga pakhat Ibzana phùmna hmun a ni (Ror 19.15; 12.8–10). Tûnah chuan Beit Lahm an ti a; Nazareth leh Haifa inkâra awm, thingtlâng khaw te reuh tê, máwi tak a ni. Nazareth aṭanga a hlat loh avàng hian mi thiam ṭhenkhat phei chuan Isua pianna hmun a nih záwk an ring titih deuh. Tûnah chuan Israel rama rawn pêm lûtte chènna ‘moshav’ khaw pakhat a ni; moshav-ah chuan a mi chêngten engkim a huhoa thawkin an thawh chhuah pawh an chang tláng ṭhin. 

Kan sawi tum tak záwk Bethlehem hi chu Judai rama mi a ni. Judai rama Bethlehem hi Isua pian hma kum 1400 BC vêlah pawh khán Amarna lehkhaah a lo lang tawh a. Chutih lai chuan Kanaan ram khû Aigupta lal hnuaia awm a ni a. Kanaan ram lársâp Abdi-Heba’n Aigupta lal Pharaoa hnêna a lehkha thawn paruk zînga pakhatah chuan Apiru helten Bit Lahmi (Bethlehem) an lák avànga la lêt leh tùra thal káp mite a hnêna thawn belh tùrin a ngèn a ni. Bible-ah chuan Galili biala Bethlehem nèn hriat hran theih nân Bethlehem-Ephratah emaw Ephratah emaw tiin sawi a ni deuh bîk a; Bethlehem- Judah tih a ni bawk. Ephrath chu ‘ram ṭha, ram tui’ tihna a ni a; Bethlehem chu Ephrath bial (district) chhûnga awm a ni ang. Bethlehem chheh vêl hi ram ṭha tak, buh leh bãl thar ṭhatna hmun a nih hmèl hle. 

Bethlehem tih hian awmze chi hrang hrang a nei thei a. Mi thiam ṭhenkhat chuan Akkadian-ho chi ṭhatna pathian Lahmu (lakmu), Kanaan miten Lehem (lekhem) an tih hming cháwia a ni ang an ti (h hnuaiah hian chhun han (.) awm tùr a ni a, lam dàn pawh ‘kh’ ang a ni. Beth-Lehem tih hi sâphoin an ziah zawm vek avàngin ‘be-thle-hem’ kan ti ta mai a; a nihna takah chuan ‘beth-lekhem’ ti-a lam tùr a ni. Sawi dàn tlángpuiah chuan ‘lehem’ chu Hebrai leh Aramaik ṭawnga ‘chhang’ (châw) tihna a ni a. A hming pakhat Ephrath awmzia kha ram ṭha, ram tui tihna a nih avàngin Bethlehem chu ‘chhang in’ tihna a ni ang an ti. Arabic ṭawng chuan ‘Baita Laham’ an ti a; chu chu ‘sa in’ tihna a ni a; Hebrai ṭawnga a awmzia nèn pawh a inhlat chuang lo, ei tùr tamna hmun a nihzia tilangtu a ni ang. Sawi dàn dang pakhat chu Beit Laham (Beth-Lakham) tih a ni a; chumi awmzia chu ‘indona in/indona hmun’ tihna a ni. Kristiante erawh chuan Beth–Lehem tih tùrah ngaiin ‘chhang in’ tih hi a awmzia ni berah kan hre thung. 

Bible-a Bethlehem lo lan hmasakna ber chu Jakoba nupui Rakili thih chungchângah a ni a (Gen 35.19). Bethlehem kawngah hian raichehin a thi a, a fapa erawh chu a dam chhuak a, a hming chu Benjamin (Heb. Ben-yamin) tih a ni a; chumi awmzia chu ‘chhim fapa/ding lam fapa’ tihna a ni. Jakoba fapate zîngah chhim lam rama piang awm chhun a ni a; mi dang zawng kha chu a puzawnte rama piang vek an ni. Tûn thlengin Bethlehem thlen hma lawk, kawng thlang lamah Rakili thlàn in chu a la awm. 

Bethlehem chu Elimeleka khua a ni a (Rut 1.2); a fapate nèn ṭàm tlàna Moab rama an kal kha an zuk thi zo titih ta mai a (Rut 1.5). A nupui leh a mo pakhat záwk, Moab nuthlâwi Ruthi chu Bethlehem-ah puar kum a thleng leh tawh tih an hriat chuan an lo kîr a. Ruthi chuan Elimeleka lamhnai Boaza loah buh ṭo a zawng ṭhin a; Boaza chuan Ruthi chu a lo hmêl duh ta hial  a. Hrui zâwla a riah zànin Naomi rem ruatnain Ruthi chuan a zuk fin ta nghe nghe a nih kha! Anni pahnih chu inneiin an thlah kal zêl chhuan thumnaah chuan Davida a lo piang a (Rut 4.21–22). Deuteronomy 23.3 kha khauh taka zawm ni sela chuan Davida chu Juda hnamah chhiar theih a ni lo ang; Amon mite leh Moab mite LALPA mite pung khâwm zîngah chhuan sàwmna thlengin an tel tùr a ni lo tih a ni si a. 

Bethlehem chu Davida  seilenna a nih avàngin ‘Davida khawpui’ tih a ni a; ‘khawpui’ tih a nih avàngin khaw lian tak tihna a ni lo. Hebrai ṭawnga ‘khawpui’ (Heb. îr) tih hi chu ‘kulh nei khua’ sawina a ni mai a; khaw len leh têt a káwk lo. Isua pian lai khân Bethlehem-ah chuan mi sâng khat pawh an chêng lo mai thei; Heroda’n kum 2 hnuai lam naupang a thahtîr pawh kha 20/30 aiin an tam kher lo ang tiin William Barclay-a’n a sawi (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, 1975:37). 

Bethlehem kan sawi hian ‘Bethlehem tlâng’ tih deuh kherin kan sawi ṭhin a; hlaah pawh chutiang chuan an phuah deuh fur a ni. Bethlehem hi ft 2,543 (metre 775)-a sáng a ni a. Tùnlai Bethlehem khawpui laili takah chuan hmànlai Bethlehem (Old city of Bethlehem) chu a awm a; khawpui hlui chinah chuan tûnah mi an bit tawh bawk a, 5,000 vêl an chêng a. Tûnlai Bethlehem khuaah chuan chhiarpui neih mûmal loh avàngin mihring chêng zát chiah hriat theih a ni lo a; kum 2007-ah khân mi 25,000 vêl chêng anga chhût a ni. 

Bethlehem hi kum 1920–1948 chhûng khân British-in an awp a. Jordan sipaiten 1948 indo lai khân an la a; kum 1967 Ni Ruk Indo lai khân Israel sipaiten an la lêt a. Kum 1995 December 1-ah Israel sipaiten an chhuahsan a; ni thum hnûah chuan Palestinian National Authority hnuaiah a awm ta a ni. Kum 2000–2005 khán Palestinian-ho nawrhna (Intifda) avàngin Bethlehem chu Israel sipaite ‘Operation Defensive Shield’ neihna hmun pakhat a ni a. Isua pianna hmuna biak in ‘The Church of the Nativity’ chhûngah chuan Palestinian helho an tawm tlat avàngin Israel sipaiten ni 39 zet an hual a; Palestinian mi tam takin an thih phah a ni. 

Bethlehem (Beth-Laham - beth-lakham) chu indona hmun tihna a nih ve tho avàngin Aigupta-hoin an awp lai aṭang khân indona hmun a lo ni tawh ṭhin a; chumi hnûah chuan  Philistia-hoin sipai dahna hmunah an hmang ve leh a. Rehoboama khân Bethlehem kulh chu a thuam ṭha bawk (2 Chr 11.5–6). Isua pian hnu lawkah Heroda Ropuia chuan Juda-te lal lo piang chu thah tumin mipa naupang kum 2 chin hnuai lam a râwtna hmun a lo ni a. Bar Kochba hoa Juda-te hel lai (AD 130–135) lai khân Rom lal Hadrian-a chuan Isua pianna lai chu Grik-ho pathian Adonis biakna hmunah a siam a. 

Rom lalber Constantine-a nu Heleni rua­hmannaa Isua pianna hmuna biak in an sak hnûah kum AD 529-a Samaritan-ho hel lai khân Church of Nativity chu tih chhiat a ni a. Kum AD 614-ah Persia lalin Bethlehem khua chu a la a; Church of Nativity-ah chuan khawchhak mi fingte lem, Persia mi anga inchei (mosaic painting) chu an hmuh avàngin an tih chhiat loh phah nghe nghe a ni. Kum AD 1009-ah Caliph al- Hakim bi-Amr Allah chuan Church of Nativity chu tih chhiat tùr a ti ná a, tualchhûng Muslim-ten an zuah lui a ni. A chhan chu biak in chhim lam sîrah chuan Pathian biak phalsak an nih vàng a ni. 

Bethlehem hi Jerusalem aṭang chuan mêl 5.52 (8.89 kms) a ni a; Nazareth leh Jerusalem inkâr hi Samritan ram pal tlanga kal chuan mêl 80 vêl a ni a. Bethlehem leh Nazareth inkâr chu mêl 85 vêl zet a nih chu. Amaherawhchu, Thuthlung Thar hunah khân Juda-ten Samari ram hi an kal tlang duh zen zen lo a. Galili ram aṭang chuan Galili dîl thlangah Jordan kânin Jordan lui dung chhak lamah an kal chhuk zar zar a, Jeriko kàiah Jordan lui an kân leh a; Jeruasalem lam an pan ta ṭhin a ni. Chumi kawng záwk zawh chuan Josefa leh Mari kha an kal a nih chuan Nazareth aṭanga Bethlehem chu mêl 100 aimahin a thui záwk a rinawm. 

Isua pian zànah khân Bethlehem daiah vàn sipai rual (Gr. stratias ouraniou - heavenly army)-in remna ‘sa ui tan hla’ an rawn rem a; vàn leh khawvêl indona ti tâwptu tùr fakna hla a ni a. Chu hla chu khawvêla hla ropui ber a ni ang:- 

Chungnung berah Pathian 

ropui takin awm rawh se;

Lei chunga a lawm êm êm 

mihringte hnênah rem thu lêng rawh se

                (Lk 2.14).

Bethlehem chu Ephrath biala khaw pakhat a ni a; Ephrath awmzia chu ‘ram ṭha, ram tui’ tihna a nih kha! Bethlehem awmzia pawh ‘chhang in’ tihna a ni. Nakina “Kei hi vàn aṭanga chhang nung lo chhuk chu ka ni” (Jn 6.33,41) la ti tùra chu ‘chhang in’ tih hming pu khuaah chuan a lo piang a. Bethlehem chu ‘chhang in’ tihna ni mah se ṭàm a tla ṭhin a, ṭàm tlàna ram danga kal a ngai hial a nih kha. ‘Chhang in’ tih hming pu khuaa lo piang vàn ata chhang nung lo chhuk ei erawh chu eng tikah mah a rilṭâm leh tawh ngai lo ang a; chatuanin chaw tak Isua ringin a tlai tawh záwk ang.