"But—but,—" said David looking up, "Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judah, for so said the prophet Micah."
"Jesus was born in Bethlehem," Matilda replied.
"But—he was called the Nazarene," said David with a kind of shiver. The boy was terribly excited, though he controlled the outward expression of his excitement as much as possible.
"He lived in Nazareth," said Matilda eagerly; "that was his home."
"Then how could he be born in Bethlehem? it's near a hundred miles off, I think."
"But don't you know?" said Matilda. "Caesar Augustus ordered everybody to be—what is it you call it? I forget;—to have their names put down, in a list of all the families and tribes, so that they might be taxed—"
"Taking the census?"
"I don't know; maybe it's that. And so, Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to have their names put down there, because it was David's city, you know, and they were of the house of David. And while they were there, Jesus was born. But after a while they went back and lived in Nazareth."
David looked dark, and eager; he made no answer.
"And it says in the first chapter of Matthew, David, that the prophet said, 'they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.'"