Wikipedia's first sentence called it “important city square in the center of bethlehem”. Today it says “city square in the center of bethlehem in palestine”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “City square in Bethlehem”. It now reads “City square in Bethlehem, Palestine”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2025 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2025
Manger Square, in Central Bethlehem Manger Square ( Arabic : ميدان المهد ; Hebrew : כיכר האבוס ) is a city square in the center of Bethlehem in Palestine . It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born which, according to Christian tradition, took place at the Grotto of the Nativity , enshrined since the fourth century in the Church of the Nativity . A particular building set in Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar , the Old City's only mosque, and the Palestinian Peace Center. The streets that lead to the square are related to the Christian faith, such as Star Street and Nativity Street. In 1998–1999, the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is, to a large degree, pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place for locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of celtis australis trees that provide shade to its people, with benches and fountains made of yellowish-white local limestone known as Naqab marble.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1277824245.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Manger Square, in Central Bethlehem Manger Square ( ) is an important city square in the center of Bethlehem . It takes its name from the manger where Jesus was born which, according to Christian dogma, is in the Church of the Nativity , possibly the oldest existing church in the world, which surrounds the square. Also around Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar (the city's only mosque) and the Palestinian Peace Center. Several Jesus-related streets lead into the Square: Star Street and Nativity Street. In 1998-1999 the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place or locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of Celtis australis that provide shade to its people with benches and fountains made of white yellowish Naqab marble below.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 304422789.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Manger Square, in Central Bethlehem Manger Square ( ) is an important city square in the center of Bethlehem in Palestine . It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born which, according to Christian dogma, is in the Church of the Nativity , possibly the oldest existing church in the world, which surrounds the square. Also around Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar (the city's only mosque) and the Palestinian Peace Center. Streets with names connected to Jesus , including Star Street and Nativity Street, lead into the square. In 1998-1999, the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place for locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of celtis australis that provide shade to its people with benches and fountains made of white yellowish Naqab marble below. On April 21, 2013, Manger Square was the starting and finishing line of Palestine Marathon .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665084980.
The opening as it stood in 2020 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Manger Square, in Central Bethlehem Manger Square ( ) is a city square in the center of Bethlehem in Palestine . It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born which, according to Christian tradition, took place at the Grotto of the Nativity , enshrined since the fourth century in the Church of the Nativity .A particular building set in Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar , the Old City's only mosque, and the Palestinian Peace Center.The streets that lead to the square are related to the Christian faith, such as Star Street and Nativity Street.In 1998–1999, the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is, to a large degree, pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place for locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of celtis australis trees that provide shade to its people, with benches and fountains made of yellowish-white local limestone known as Naqab marble.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 956024037.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
City square in Bethlehem Manger Square, in Central Bethlehem Manger Square ( ; ) is a city square in the center of Bethlehem in Palestine . It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born which, according to Christian tradition, took place at the Grotto of the Nativity , enshrined since the fourth century in the Church of the Nativity . A particular building set in Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar , the Old City's only mosque, and the Palestinian Peace Center. The streets that lead to the square are related to the Christian faith, such as Star Street and Nativity Street. In 1998–1999, the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is, to a large degree, pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place for locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of celtis australis trees that provide shade to its people, with benches and fountains made of yellowish-white local limestone known as Naqab marble.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1151116418.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “important city square in the center of bethlehem”. Today it says “city square in the center of bethlehem in palestine”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “City square in Bethlehem”. It now reads “City square in Bethlehem, Palestine”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
important city square in the center of bethlehem
Now
city square in the center of bethlehem in palestine
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
