Now:
- Jesus birth was a late night, imminent, delivery
- Joseph and Mary had a hard time finding a place
- Jesus was born in a ‘manger’
- There was no room at the ‘inn’
Then:
- Joseph and Mary were not in a rush, and there was no late night, emergent delivery.
- Joseph was of the royal line of David (in fact, Bethlehem was known as ‘the city of David’). Joseph’s arrival would be welcomed and he would have been shown the respect of someone from the royal line of David. Mary had relatives in a neighboring town, and in the middle eastern culture at the time, a pregnant women would have been shown respect and utmost care. Mary would have been welcomed with open arms.
- Jesus was born in a family room of a friend or relative’s home. A manger was a cut out in the floor of the family room. In the Middle East in the 1st century, the home was structured in such a way that the animals were placed inside the home at night to provide warmth and protect them from robbers. There were several mangers in the family room for the animals. Jesus would have been wrapped in warm clothes and placed in comfort in a manger in the family room of the home.
- The Greek word for ‘inn’ (katalyma) used by Luke was also used by him in Luke 22:10-12 and was translated more accurately there as ‘guest room’. If Luke meant a commercial inn or hotel, he would have used the Greek word: pandocheion. Many families would have a main living area (with a manger) and a guest room attached. The attached guest room was occupied to the home of the family that Joseph and Mary were staying with so that is what is meant by ‘no room in the guest room’ in the Biblical text.
reference: Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey