The Bible Study New Testament

Luke 2:7

She gave birth to her first son. PROTOTOKON. The language implies that Mary would be the mother of other children. See note on Matthew 1:25; John 2:12. Wrapped him in cloths. New-born children were wrapped tightly in a long, narrow cloth. And laid him in a manger. In the animal's feeding trough. Tradition places the birth in a cave behind the inn. Justin Martyr mentions a prophecy in Isaiah 33:16 [Septuagint] which reads: "He shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock: bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure. " Caves are used to house animals in most rocky countries. The number of people who came to Bethlehem to register for the census crowded the inn, so there was no room for Mary and Joseph to stay. Also, the more private cave would be better for the birth to take place, and, when Jesus came as a human being, he stooped to its most humble circumstances. [Inn: built on the plan of an Eastern house, but much larger. Four rows of rooms, enclosing a large yard with a well at the center. The outer wall is usually of brick on a stone foundation. The rooms are entered from the yard, and the rooms themselves are built two or three feet above the surface of the yard. Below and behind the row of rooms was the stable, which could be a cave, or a long room or row of rooms. The floor of the guest rooms was often extended into the stable to form a shelf to hold the food for the animals.]

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Luke 2:7

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