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 Luke
2:1-20
Location
Bethlehem is located about
five miles south of Jerusalem,
on the east side of the "Patriarch's Highway" that ran along
the ridge between Shechem and
Hebron. Here David was born and
tended his father's sheep. Three miles to the southeast of
Bethlehem, Herod the Great had built an extensive residence/fortification,
the Herodium. There Herod was
buried, within sight of where Jesus had been born. (See Location Profile:
Bethlehem)
 Circumstances
Many traditions about the birth of Jesus, upon further research and reflection,
have little basis in fact. Jesus was not born in a stable, but in the
home of a member of Joseph's extended family that lived in
Bethlehem. Some misconceptions concerning the circumstances of His
birth result from a mistranslation of kataluma that means "guest
room," not "inn." They also reflect a Western rather than
a Middle Eastern understanding of the cultural factors involved. When
he referred to the inn where the Samaritan brought the wounded Jewish
traveler, Luke used this term pandocheion (Luke 10:34).
Timing
There is no indication that Jesus was born immediately after Mary and
Joseph arrived, or that He was born at night. The text, "…while
they were there, the days were accomplished for her to give birth,"
suggests that His birth took place at a later time, perhaps days or weeks
after their arrival (Luke 2:6).
 The
Place of Birth
Mary gave birth to Jesus in a family home. With reference to Jesus' birth,
Luke used the word kataluma, translated "guest room"
in Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14. It was in that kind of "guest room"
that Jesus celebrated the last Passover with His disciples. (Bailey, 1980)
 When
Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem,
they found the guest room in a family member's home already occupied,
perhaps by other relatives who had returned to their ancestral town to
register for the census. Arrangements were then made for Mary to give
birth to Jesus in another part of the house, presumably the "family
room." Luke probably mentioned this detail to account for the availability
of the manger when the shepherds arrived, rather than to suggest inadequacy
in the conditions of Jesus' birth.
(The "Tayibeh house," located at the site of Ephraim, some
twelve miles northeast of Jerusalem,
provides an example of the kind of home in which Jesus was born. This
early 20th century Arab dwelling is very similar to the kind of homes
in which people lived in Jesus' day.)
 The
Manger
Animals were usually brought into the lower level of rural and small
town homes at night for safety, and in the winter, to provide warmth.
The manger was usually carved from stone, measuring three to four feet
in length. The cavity that usually held fodder for animals would be just
the right size and located at just the right height for a baby! (The phrase,
"born in a manger," is unscriptural and patently an impossibility.)
The angels had identified the manger as the place where the shepherds
would find Jesus. Since they also mentioned the cloth wrappings used for
newborns, the angels may only have been emphasizing the normalcy of His
birth circumstances rather than intending to provide a means of identifying
the baby. In any case, finding the baby lying in a manger, wrapped according
to common practice, apparently caused no surprise to the shepherds or
problem for the family members present. Jesus' birth, surrounded by a
loving family, reflected the customs of a humble, first century family.
The Family Home
Mary and Joseph had returned to
Bethlehem to register for the Roman tax because it was the homeland
of their families, traced back to David of the tribe of Judah. Although
they had settled in Galilee, their tribal roots remained in
Bethlehem. Recent research has suggested that a group of Judeans had
returned from Babylon about 100 B.C., establishing such towns as
Nazareth, following the Maccabean reclamation of that region (Pixner,
1992). With many relatives living in
Bethlehem, it would have been unthinkable for Mary and Joseph to seek
a public inn, if indeed one existed there. In that small village, family
members would not have expected or accepted such a rejection of their
hospitality especially in view of the imminent birth of a firstborn child.
Implications
Identification. Jesus entered this world in conditions similar
to those common in his day and much of the world twenty centuries later.
It was not the "lovely" setting that is often stressed.
Interpretation. To impose a Western interpretation on the circumstances
of Jesus' birth tends to distort the reality of the event for us and to
deprive non-Western people of an understanding of the people and events
recorded in the Scripture.
Accessibility. Jesus' birth in a local family home and His being
found in a manger by shepherds previewed His availability to all people,
even those whom many of His day would exclude.
Bibliography
- Bailey, Kenneth E.: "The Manger and the Inn: The Cultural Background
of Luke 2:7" in Evangelical Review of Theology, 4:2:1980.
- Pixner, Bargil. With Jesus through Galilee According to the Fifth
Gospel. Rosh Pina: Corazin Publishing, 1992.
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