The King James Version (1611) of the first Christmas says, “While they were there [Bethlehem] … 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 (katalyma)” (Luke 2:6-7).
However, the word katalyma, means “spare room,” like the smaller room on the right of this house (cf Mark 1:14; Luke 22:11), not “commerical inn” (pandokheion, Luke 10:34). This translation error caused British readers, who kept their animals in separate structures, to imagine Jesus being born alone in a stable. The traditional nativity imagery, then, is as linguistically and culturally accurate as if it included a Tesla Cybertruck.
Instead, Mary and Joseph would have been welcomed into their relative’s home in Bethlehem. But because the spare room was full, Jesus was born in the main house among family and gently laid in one of the mangers.
Merry Christmas!
(This floor plan was derived from an illustration in Logos Bible Software)
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