Although the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke give different accounts of the birth of Jesus, they both place the birth in Bethlehem.Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, Anchor Bible (1999), page 36. The Gospel of Matthew describes Herod the Great as asking the chief priests and scribes of Jerusalem where the Messiah was to be born. They respond by quoting Micah, "In Beit-Lechem of Y'hudah," they replied, "because the prophet wrote, 'And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Y'hudah; for from you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Isra'el. ()
