Every year, every movie, television show, stage drama, and sermon shows us the stable where Jesus was born.
But why was he born in a barn? Because, and we can recite this from memory, “there was no room for them in the inn.” Yet the owner had a good heart and wanted to help Mary and Joseph, so he offered them what he had left–some space out back where the animals slept. I suppose it beats the outdoors, so they took him up on his offer, and not long afterwards, the newborn Savior came into the world.
I never had any reason to question these details. It made sense that the inn at Bethlehem was crowded because of the influx of travelers. Why so many people? Luke answers:
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to their own town to register.” – Luke 2:1-3
Government!
It’s easy to issue an edict; but it can be hard to obey it. Still, people weren’t taking any chances, so off they went.
Mary and Joseph included.
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” – Luke 2:4-5
Her pregnancy didn’t excuse her; she showed up, too.
But so did Jesus!
“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” – Luke 2:6-7 (KJV)
Now, you may notice that I’ve been quoting the NIV but switched to the KJV for verses 6-7. I did that because the passage in that version ends with the classic line, “there was no room for them in the inn.”
It’s the basis for all our visual recreations of the first Christmas.
But is it right?
I don’t mean the Bible verse; I trust the truthfulness of God’s Word. I’m talking about the translation. Did they get it right?
Not according to Kenneth Bailey.
Several years ago, I read through a book of his, titled, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (it was published in 2008). Bailey is not only a minister and Bible scholar, but he also lived in the Middle East for many years. Being on the ground has given him insight into Scripture that an abstract reading can overlook.
One of those insights concerns Christ’s birthplace.
Not the town; that’s not disputed. The exact location, the domicile or facility–that’s what’s at issue.
The way Luke 2:7 gets interpreted, Joseph and Mary traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem, but since so many others were also doing the same thing, they couldn’t get a room. So the innkeeper did the next best thing and gave them a bit of shelter in the stable. It was the best he could do.
But Bailey points out that the Greek word for “inn” is mistranslated. The word kataluma isn’t a common word in the Greek New Testament; it shows up only three times, with two of the verses referring to the same event (Christ’s last supper with His disciples). Here are those verses in the King James:
- “And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples?” – Mark 14:14 (KJV)
- “And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples?” – Luke 22:11 (KJV)
Do you suppose Jesus was intending to eat the passover with His disciples in a barn? That’s unlikely!
If we’re uncertain about the translation, “guestchamber,” consider how the NIV renders these verses:
- “Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’” – Mark 14:14
- “Say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’” – Luke 22:11
It sounds like the Lord’s talking about a room in a house, doesn’t it? That’s Bailey’s point.
But what about the manger? Doesn’t that prove Jesus was born in a barn?
Not exactly.
Bailey reveals that to keep some of their smaller animals safe, many of the less well-to-do Israelites would bring them inside at night. They would put up a low fence in the entryway to separate what we would call the foyer from the rest of the home. The animals could stay there without bothering the residents. And to feed the animals, the homeowners would dig a shallow trough into the floor so the food wouldn’t scatter everywhere.
In a sense, we can say that Jesus was born among the animals, but it was in a house. By the time Mary and Joseph arrived, the guest room of that house was already occupied. But hospitality is an important value in the Middle East, so the family offered what little space remained.
This is how Kenneth Bailey describes the first Christmas.
To see if the Scripture backs up his contention, I checked out how the Greek Old Testament (not the New Testament, the Old) uses the Greek word kataluma. Around the year 250 BC, Jewish scribes translated the Bible from Hebrew to Greek. 11 times they used this word and based on the context of the verses, I determined that kataluma could refer to one of three things: an inn, a room, or a tent.
There’s an English translation of the Greek Old Testament called the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS for short). Here are the 11 verses which have the word kataluma:
- Exodus 4:24 – “Now it happened at the way of the lodging, an angel of the Lord met him and was seeking to kill him.” (Moses was returning to Egypt from Midian, so the word could have any one of the three meanings.)
- Exodus 15:13 – “You led by Your righteousness this people of Yours whom You redeemed; You summoned by Your power into Your holy abode.” (Here, Moses mentions God’s dwelling place which might refer to the tabernacle, a tent yet to be constructed.)
- 1 Samuel 1:18 – “And she said, ‘You slave has found favor in your sight.’ And the woman went on her way and entered her quarters and and ate and drank with her husband and her countenance was sad no longer.” (Hannah and Elkanah traveled about 15 miles from the town of Ramah to the tabernacle in Shiloh to sacrifice to the Lord. The quarters they stay in could be any one of the three.)
- 1 Samuel 9:22 – “And Samuel took Saul and his lad and brought them into the lodging place and set a place for them among the first of those who had been invited–about seventy men.” (It’s interesting that the Hebrews text mentions 30 men, while the Greek has 70. I assume the latter is a translation error, but either way, a large room would be needed to accommodate this many mouths. Since this event took place in a city, it’s likely that a tent wasn’t involved; this is probably an inn or a room in an estate.)
- 2 Samuel 7:6 – “for I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt to this day, and I was moving about in a temporary abode and in a tent.” (This is a reference to God’s tabernacle, the tent which housed the ark of the covenant.)
- 1 Chronicles 17:5 – “because I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel until this day, and I was in a tent and in a lodging.” (Again, a reference to the tabernacle.)
- 1 Chronicles 28:13 – “and of the lodgings of the classes of the priests and Levites pertaining to every work of ministration of the Lord’s house and of the stores of the liturgical vessels for service in the Lord’s house.” (This verse specifies the rooms in the temple that the priests stayed in when their time to serve was scheduled.)
- Jeremiah 14:8 – “You are Israel’s endurance, O Lord, and You save in time of trouble; why have You become like a resident alien in the land and like an indigenous person turning aside for lodging?” (If a wanderer had his own tent, he wouldn’t be looking for a place to stay, so in this verse, the word probably means an inn or room.)
- Jeremiah 25:38 – “Like a lion he has left his lodging, because their land became untrodden from before the great dagger.” (This is a lion’s lair, which technically doesn’t fit any of the three meanings I mentioned above!)
- Jeremiah 33:12 – “Thus did the Lord say: There shall again in this place that is waste and in all its cities, lodgings of shepherds resting sheep.” (Most likely this verse refers to tents.)
- Ezekiel 23:21 – “And you reflected upon the lawlessness of your youth, what you used to do in Egypt in your lodging, where the breasts of your youth were.” (Ezekiel is describing with sexual innuendo the idolatrous tendencies of the Israelites as going as far back as their captivity in Egypt. While there, they didn’t live in tents or inns; they had homes with rooms.)
So back to the original question: where was Jesus born? Based on the way Luke and Mark use the word kataluma, it seems that Bailey is correct that Mary gave birth to Christ in a house. The Old Testament use of the term doesn’t undermine his case, even though kataluma does have a broader range of meanings than “guest room.”
Humility, a lack of control over one’s circumstances, neediness, and hospitality all characterized the birth of Jesus Christ. He came to us to save us from what governs us so that we might enjoy the Father’s good graces forever.
Praise be to our Savior and Lord!
