ποιμένες. Shepherds at this time were a despised class, so that in this instance first πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται. Luke 7:22 (Meyer). Why these were the first to whom was revealed the birth of Him who was called the Lamb of God we are not told. The sheep used for the daily sacrifice were pastured in the fields of Bethlehem.

ἀγραυλοῦντες. This does not prove, as some have supposed, that the Nativity took place in spring, for in some pastures of Palestine the shepherds to this day bivouac with their flocks in winter. See, however, Robinson, Bibl. Res. II. 505, who thinks that this would not be possible at Bethlehem in the rainy season of December. On the other hand, we cannot estimate the extent to which the climate may have altered.

ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ. Tradition says that they were natives of the little village Beth-zur (Joshua 15:58; Nehemiah 3:16). They were feeding their flocks in the same fields from which David had been summoned to feed Jacob, God’s people, and Israel His inheritance.

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Old Testament