Re: The wise men and their star

Gordon Brown wrote:

>A number of years ago I saw a video made by a man who had grown up in the
Middle East and was supposed to be an expert on what that area was like
2000 years ago. He disputed your point that mangers would never be found
in a house. He claimed that it was normal for an animal shed to be under
the same roof and to be easily accessible from the living quarters. (See
Judges 11:31.)<

 Thank you for this correction! But can we be sure Jephthah expected an
animal (rather than a human being) to come from the doors of his house
to meet him on his return? After all, he was in a desparate situation
when he made his vow (and in a time when all kinds of horrible heathen
customs held sway).

> He noted that, contrary to the traditional translations of
the nativity account, catalyma is not the normal word for inn. It is used
by Luke for the room in which the Last Supper was held. His suggestion was
that rather than saying that there was no room in the inn, Luke was really
saying that there was no space in the guest room.<

 You are right. Unfortunately, I didn't check the word, catalyma, which
designates either an inn or a guest room. So, it might be a guest room
in a private home in Bethlehem. And if the animal shed with the manger
was under the same roof, my argument from the distinction between a
"house" and a place with a "manger" would not stand. However, all the
temporal and some other indications still point to Nazareth for the wise
men's visit, rather than Bethlehem.

> He pointed out that the
Bible does not say that Jesus was born the very night that Joseph and Mary
arrived in Bethlehem, but rather that His birth occurred while they were
there.<

 Agreed. But this doesn't modify the scenario.

 Thank you, Gordon, for your remarks!

 Peter

 --

Dr. Peter Ruest, CH-3148 Lanzenhaeusern, Switzerland
<pruest@dplanet.ch> - Biochemistry - Creation and evolution
"..the work which God created to evolve it" (Genesis 2:3)
Received on Fri Jan 7 00:45:25 2005