“ You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, ” wrote the prophet Micah, “from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite. ” The Messiah was to be born in the Judean town of Bethlehem, evidently once named Ephrathah.
« تو ای بیت‌لَحَمِ اَفْراته اگرچه در هزاره‌های یهودا کوچک هستی ،‏ از تو برای من کسی بیرون خواهد آمد که بر قوم من اسرائیل حکمرانی خواهد نمود و طلوع‌های او از قدیم و از ایّام ازل بوده است .‏ »