bet le.chem is the proper name of a city, identified in travel, residence, burial, and family-origin settings.

The term consistently functions as a proper place name: a city reached or left, associated with residents and families, and used to locate events such as burial, travel, a well by the gate, and civic activity.

1. Proper name of a city · dominant

   The supplied form is tagged Noun · Proper throughout. In 1 Samuel 16:4 the APB renders Samuel as coming to the city and its elders meeting him; in Ruth 1:19 it renders Naomi and Ruth arriving there and the whole city reacting. The name also locates Rachel's burial in Genesis 35:19 and the water source by the gate in 2 Samuel 23:15.

   1 Samuel 16:4Ruth 1:19Genesis 35:192 Samuel 23:15Judges 17:8Ezra 2:21

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB generally presents the term as “Bethlehem,” including with qualifiers such as “Bethlehem in Judah” and “Bethlehem of Judah.” These renderings confirm the verse-level place reference rather than isolating an English equivalent token by token.