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Bethlehem,
Well known as a place for artists and spiritual power, is the city of
Jesus birth and the cradle of peace.
Through out the years, Churches in the
Holy Land have used arts to teach the Bible message to the people. Arts
became the peoples Bible.
"Isn't this the carpenter's son?
Matthew 13:55
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, Mark 6:3
T he
olive wood artists' craft began in Bethlehem
In the fourth century following the
construction of the
Nativity Church,
The Church was built on the traditional birth place
of Jesus. At that time Monks taught the craft to the
local resident how to carve olive wood
and later was
taught from generation to
generation until it was perfected and mastered .Thus
continuing the ancient tradition of beautiful olivewood carvings in the
Holy Land. Its is said that when Jesus worked as a carpenter he
carved olive wood.
We are the Bethlehem Bible Artists, a
new generation of dedicated artists and who continue to spread the same
timeless message of the Bible through our arts. With humbleness we are
considered among the most skilled carvers in the world and many of our
carvings found their way to Museums and houses of faith around the world.
All
the olive wood figurines and arts that we produce are hand carved from
the trimmings (pruning) of the Bethlehem olive trees which is an essential
process for a healthier growth for the trees and to generate environmental
stability.
So NO TREE IS
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED IN THE PROCESS.
The olive tree is connected to our Christian faith as Jesus
prayed under an olive tree in his way to Jerusalem before his crucifixion and
his crucifixion on an olive wood cross made from the olive wood taken from the
olive trees near the garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.
Jesus
Christ was arrested on The Mount of Olives that fateful night, and He ascended into Heaven from there after His
Resurrection from the tomb. The greatest event of all history will occur
on The Mount Of Olives -
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His branches shall spread, and His beauty
shall be as the olive tree"...(Hosea 14:6)
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"Out of the ground, the Lord God made to
grow every tree that is pleasant for the sight and good for food, the tree
of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil." Genesis 2:9".
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More than any other plant,
the olive tree symbolizes the Holy Land it has been called The Sacred
Tree... The Peace Tree...Clock of Ages... The Tree of Light and Tree of Legends
The
olive tree represents the Holy Land in all religions. "The olive
tree stands as a perfect personification of man's historical memory
in the Holy Land. It is the tree with the highest endurance and
fruitful capacity. It is the sign of peace between God and mankind.
The olive tree is native to the
Holy Land where it has been cultivated since ancient times.
According to historians, the first olive groves took root in the Holy Land
and along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean around 4,000 B.C.
The Bible contains many references to the culinary and
religious uses of olives and olive oil. In the Book of Genesis the dove
sent out from the ark by Noah returned with an olive branch
(Genesis 8:11). Here it became the great symbol of peace, indicating the
end of God’s anger. And its recognition by Noah suggests that it was
already a well-known tree.
Olive Tree
Farmers
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops,
Timothy 2:6
Every year the farmers of the Holy Land pick the olives in the middle of
October.
During the same season, they cut (prune) some of the branches.
The pruning idea is to open
the tree to let the sun well lights the fruits and the foliage inside.
When two olive branches touch each other they will
both become weak but when
you take one and leave the other the left branch will give you the same
olives as two branches and the tree will remain healthy and will
live longer!
 Pruning
Methods:
The pruning of olive trees must be done with hand saw not electric because the smoke
that come from the diesel or gas saws affects the taste of olives and the
olive oil and even makes the tree week!
It is said that the olive tree
once spoke to her farmer and told him... Keep my
brother away from me and take his share from
me!
Olive wood
"The Wood is from the tree of
life, those who embrace her; those who lay hold of
her will be blessed." Proverbs 3:18
After
the olive tree is trimmed her
branches are kept for a
few years inside Bethlehem caves. Caves are ideal to 
dry the olive wood because the temperatures of the cave stay the same year round
and there is no moisture or humidity so the wood dry without splitting or
cracking and becomes dry and ideal for carving.
You
can estimate the age of a particular piece by examining its grain. Very old
trees have a dark grain while younger trees exhibit a lighter color.
The dark lines inside this olive wood
trunk tells how old is the tree the more lines the
wood have the older the tree. the dark grains
inside the trunk of the olive wood olive wood
trunks is called the heart of the wood or the jewels and they are what
olive wood carvers and their customers look for.
Bethlehem olive trees are also called
the Roman trees they get their name because they have been living in
Bethlehem and bearing fruits since the time of the Romans and Jesus
time.
  
Bethlehem olive wood is heavy, dense and
durable with a distinctive red pigment in its grain.
All carvings made of this hard wood have a varying and smooth grain,
making every piece extraordinarily unique. It is very difficult to match
the grain of two pieces since the pattern is completely hidden in the
heart of the wood
Once carved, the wood is sanded and coated with
a special varnish to protect it and highlight the texture of the grain. There is no need for oiling or further
treatment of any kind
since olive oil inside the wood is naturally
protecting the wood from corrosions. Since olive is one of the hardest woods on
earth, carvings will easily last a life time and be admired by generations to
come.. As it ages,
it will become darker and even more beautiful.
The
artistically smooth and elegant grain of the olive
wood renders it one of
the most beautiful in the world and olive wood carvings
will easily last a life time and be enjoyed by
generations to come.
Olive Wood
Carvers in Bethlehem Today
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the
house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever, Psalm 52:8
The
olive wood craft depends on simple hand tools and it needs
extraordinary skills lots of patience and
concentration.
The Holy Land Olive
Trees Today
Since
the days of Noah, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace and
goodwill. Unfortunately, in recent years, the war in the Holy
Land has often led to the uprooting of olive tree orchards more than
50,000 olive trees have been uprooted and destroyed, the sole
source of income for many farmers. The olive tree have traditionally
symbolized the spirit of the Holy Land farmers and their connection to
the Holy land a connection that has remained strong, despite years of
war and political unres
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Creator ->Forms
"Out of the ground, the Lord God made to
grow every tree that is pleasant for the sight and good for food, the tree
of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil." Genesis 2:9"
We
sincerely hope that your visit through our gallery will be a pleasant,
enjoyable, and fruitful experience and that our religious and spiritual
Items will inspire your faith and offer you a journey of the spirit...and
a chance to draw closer to the places where Jesus was born. Proclaimed his
message of Love, Justice, and Peace on Earth.
  
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