Re: [asa] Re: star/Bethlehem

Jim Armstrong wrote:
> I mentioned this discussion to my wife, including the matter of
> locating the inn, and including the (maybe) 250 dwellings that would
> have to be sorted through to find the right place, not (I said) too
> formidable task. She smiled and said, "But they were men. And wouldn't
> ask for directions! That's the true miracle, ...that they found it at
> all!" :-)
LOL!!!

Actually, I was thinking about this question in light of my previous
post on Tatian's Diatessaron - after all, there wouldn't be much point
going around the doors of Bethlehem if the Holy Family had already
decamped to Nazareth.

And it struck me as a curious fact that finding Jesus in Nazareth after
the census would be easier than finding him in Bethlehem during. Not
just because of the large number of people in Bethlehem and the fact
that Nazareth was a much smaller place - but because the Magi would know
from their visit to Herod that the "king of the Jews" was born in
Bethlehem - so all they need to do is go to Nazareth and ask if any
family had recently arrived from Bethlehem with a new-born.

Much easier than turning up in Bethlehem, knocking on doors and asking
"Excuse us, but was the king of the Jews born here in the last few
days?" (for some reason the opening scene of Monty Python's 'Life of
Brian' keeps coming to mind!)

So Tatian's ordering of the events seems to have certain advantages I
hadn't previously considered - although I doubt that Tatian was thinking
any such thing when he wrote his account!

Except, of course, it doesn't quite deal with your wife's objection -
presumably she'd suggest that the Magi wouldn't have asked for
directions in Nazareth either!!!

Blessings,
Murray

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Received on Wed Nov 25 13:26:23 2009