/ Gathering Stones aka Biblical Archaeology: Archaeological supports for the Gospel of Luke

Monday, November 06, 2006

Archaeological supports for the Gospel of Luke

Luke 2:6-7

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And 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.

This segment is about Bethlehem, and the archaeological evidences that point to the Christ child being born there.


For some picture of Bethlehem,
http://www.bibleplaces.com/bethlehem.htm
http://www.bethlehem-city.org/Photo_...w/gallery2.htm



For some pictures from 100 years ago


http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~dhershkowitz/pic242-m.jpg
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~dhershkowitz/pic239-m.jpg

A David Roberts' lithograph from about 1840

http://www.medinaarts.com/HG073.htm

BTW... David Roberts was an artist who traveled throughout the Middle East leaving us with an indication of what life was like about 175 years ago. His lithographs have proven to be quite accurate.


Early Christian writings...

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-firstapology.html

CHAPTER XXXIV -- PLACE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH FORETOLD.
And hear what part of earth He was to be born in, as another prophet, Micah, foretold. He spoke thus: "And thou, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth a Governor, who shall feed My people." Now there is a village in the land of the Jews, thirty-five stadia from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born, as you can ascertain also from the registers of the taxing made under Cyrenius, your first procurator in Judaea.


From my notes...

I remember as a child how I was taught that Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem because there was no room for them in the inn. As I grew older, I learned that Jesus was probably born in a cave, and I thought, how unusual for a cave to be used as a stable.

Now that I have traveled in Israel and I have learned the Jewish traditions, I don't find it unusual at all that our Lord and our Savior was born in a stable, a cave in the city of David known as Bethlehem. The area around Bethlehem contains soft limestone that could be hewn into living quarters--first for man and, then later, for the animals when a home is built on top of the cave. There was not an abundance of building materials in the early periods of civilization in Israel other than stones.

Homes were built with stone walls upon stone foundations and with stone floors. The common four-space living quarter was the standard for the Canaanite/Israelite family. One space of the living quarters was usually a court area of some sort where the cooking was performed outdoors and the animals were stabled at night. But in Bethlehem, the caves were used as stables, and the home as the central living area was built above the cave.

According to The Holy Bible and Jewish law, when a woman had an issue of blood for any reason, she was ritually unclean for that time and for seven days thereafter. She remained ceremonially unclean or ritually unclean until she was purified by entering a mitzvah in the witnessing presence of a rabbi. While she was ritually unclean, she had to live separately from the rest of the family so as not to defile the people in the household and by her presence rendering them ceremonially unclean.

Therefore, during those times, the woman would leave the standard living area and stay in an area where she would not defile the home. In Bethlehem, that would be in the cave under the house, the stable for the animals. So, in Jewish history, it would not be uncommon to find women living part of their lives in the stables with the animals, particularly in the smaller homes of the less privileged people,

During childbirth and with the issue of blood loss, the same rule applied to the woman. If she were to give birth in the common living area, she would defile the family making it necessary for them to be ceremonially purified by both a ritual bath and a sacrifice; therefore, women would leave the common living area to give birth. In other words, it would not have been uncommon in the first-century family in Bethlehem, for the woman to enter the cave or stable area to give birth. After the cessation of blood and the required time of waiting for purification, the woman and child would perform the necessary ritual bath to be ceremonially clean and return to the household with the rest of the family.

When He arrived in Bethlehem, his ancestral home, he had Mary with him and it was time for her to give birth to the Christ child. The Luke account of the birth states that there was “no room for them in the inn;” however, considering the Jewish rituals and purification laws, and in knowing that childbirth was imminent, Mary and Joseph would have been turned away from the inn even if there had been room available.

The birth of a child and the presence of blood would have defiled the inn and defiled those within the inn. It was a common practice when children were born, to leave the home and give birth elsewhere, as in a cave or stable. We view the concept as strange, but it would have been common for the purification of the entire household. The four-space structure of the standard Israelite home afforded such a space as one space was designated the area for women in the household when they were either in their “monthly time” or during childbirth.

posted by ~serapha~ at 6:48 PM

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