Israel anakubali proposal zao kwasababu ana nia ya kuokoa raia wake walio mateka tu na wala sio kingine. ukiwa unapigana na kichaa aliyenyakua mtoto wako unatakiwa kwenda kwa akili, sometimes jifanye unataka kupatana naye hadi pale utakapompata mtoto wako, ukienda kichwakichwa anaweza kuchinja mtoto wako hivyo hata kama wewe utamfyeka yule adui lakini utakuwa umepoteza mtoto wako. ndicho kinachoendelea kule. hamas silaha yao kubwa ni mateka na wanajua israel wanapenda sana raia wao, hamas hawapendi ndio maana hata wapalestina wanaokimbia maeneo ya vita hamas walikuwa wanawashambulia kwa risasi kwasababu walipenda wabaki pale ili wawe kama ngao.
Bethlehem – tribe, town or man?
"Where was Jesus born? Was it Bethlehem or Nazareth or even Sepphoris, Tiberias or Jerusalem?
We cannot know for sure because the early Christians themselves apparently did not know."
– Steve Mason, Where Was Jesus Born? The First Christmas, Biblical Archaeology Society, 2009
Jesus' birth in Bethlehem was supposedly "foretold" in the Old Testament prophecy:
"
Herod ... inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'" – Matthew 2.3-6.
This appears to be from
Micah but
Matthew does not quote accurately. In fact, he conflates
Micah with 2
Samuel and also subtly alters the text. In 2
Samuel "the tribes" (collectively?) are speaking to David at Hebron. It is the occasion of his anointing as king. The 30-year-old has impressed Yahweh with his prowess as a military commander.
"In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall become their ruler.' " – 2 Samuel 5.
Micah – one of the quartet of 8th century "prophets" (along with Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea) – refers not to Bethlehem but to
Bethlehem Ephrathah and in the Old Testament,
Ephrath is not simply a place name but also a description for members of the Israelite tribe of
Ephraim.
According to the yarn in
Genesis, Ephraim was a son of Joseph and among his descendants was Joshua son of Nun (that's the guy who led the conquest of Canaan) and Jeroboam, the first king of Israel (1 Kings 11.26). They were thus "northerners" but according to 2 Chronicles, Ephraimites fled south into Judah in the time of king Asa (9th century BC). As northerners, they apparently had a very distinctive accent, a point related in a memorable massacre of the Ephraimites at the hands of Gileadites, east of the Jordan (Judges 12).
"Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim ... There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites." – Judges 12.4-6.
Apparently, in this conflict between the tribes, the
pronunciation of shibboleth as sibboleth was sufficient evidence to identify Ephraimites and get them killed! (Judges 12.5-6.) Thus Ephrathite appears to be synonymous with Ephraimite and it seems that surviving Ephraimites settled near to Bethlehem, giving the settlement its double name. And then along came David:
"Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons." – 1 Samuel 17:12
Micah, or whoever wrote in that name, was ostensibly an exile from the northern kingdom, writing in the time of Hezekiah (c.728-698 BC). He makes very clear precisely
when in history his hero will "shepherd Israel" to glory:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting ...
When the Assyrian comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances. Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders." – Micah 5.2-6.
Nothing here suggests a prophecy of a far-distant future. In fact, it was a pathetic forecast even for Micah's own age. The tiny theocracy of Jerusalem laying waste the Assyrian empire? Only in the delusional mind of a religious fanatic.