Lucas 2:7

Filipino Cebuano Bible

7 Ug iyang gianak ang iyang panganay nga usa ka lalaki, ug kini iyang giputos sa mga bakbak ug gipahigda sa pasungan, kay wala na may luna alang kanila sa balay nga abutanan.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

she: Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:25, Galatians 4:4

and wrapped: Luke 2:11, Luke 2:12, Psalms 22:6, Isaiah 53:2, Isaiah 53:3, Matthew 8:20, Matthew 13:55, John 1:14, 2 Corinthians 8:9

the inn: Luke 10:34, Genesis 42:27, Genesis 43:21, Exodus 4:24

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 16:4 - nor Matthew 1:16 - of whom Luke 1:57 - General Luke 2:16 - found John 4:6 - sat 1 Timothy 2:15 - she

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And she brought forth her firstborn son,.... At Bethlehem, as was predicted; and the Jews themselves own, that the Messiah is already born, and born at Bethlehem. They have a tradition, that an Arabian should say to a Jew k

"Lo! the king Messiah is born; he said to him, what is his name? Menachem: he asked him, what is his father's name? he replied to him, Hezekiah; he said unto him, from whence is he? he answered, from the palace of the king of Bethlehem.''

Which is elsewhere l reported, with some little variation; the Arabian said to the Jew,

"the Redeemer of the Jews is born; he said unto him, what is his name? he replied, Menachem is his name: and what is his father's name? he answered, Hezekiah: he said unto him, and where do they dwell? he replied, in Birath Arba, in Bethlehem.''

And the Jewish chronologer affirms m, that

"Jesus the Nazarene, was born at Bethlehem Judah, a "parsa" and a half from Jerusalem.''

And even the author of the blasphemous book of the life of Christ owns n, that

"Bethlehem Judah was the place of his nativity.''

Jesus is called Mary's firstborn, because she had none before him; though she might not have any after him; for the first that opened the matrix, was called the firstborn, though none followed after, and was holy to the Lord, Exodus 13:2. Christ, as to his human nature; was Mary's firstborn; and as to his divine nature, God's firstborn:

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes; which shows, that he was in all things made like unto us, sin only excepted. This is one of the first things done to a new born infant, after that it is washed, and its navel cut; see Ezekiel 16:4 and which Mary did herself, having neither midwife nor nurse with her; from whence it has been concluded, that the birth of Jesus was easy, and that she brought him forth without pain, and not in that sorrow women usually do;

and laid him in a manger. The Persic version serves for a comment; "she put him into the middle of the manger, in the place in which they gave food to beasts; because in the place whither they came, they had no cradle": this shows the meanness of our Lord's birth, and into what a low estate he came; and that now, as afterwards, though Lord of all, yet had not where to lay his head in a proper place; and expresses his amazing grace, in that he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor: and the reason of his being here laid was,

because there was no room for them in the inn. It seems that Joseph had no house of his own to go into, nor any relation and friend to receive him: and it may be, both his own father and Mary's father were dead, and therefore were obliged to put up at an inn; and in this there was no room for them, because of the multitude that were come thither to be enrolled: and this shows their poverty and meanness, and the little account that was made of them; for had they been rich, and made any considerable figure, they would have been regarded, and room made for them; especially since Mary was in the circumstances she was; and it was brutish in them to turn them into a stable, when such was her case.

k T. Hieros. Berncot, fol. 5. 1. l Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 1. m David Ganz, ut supra. (par. 2. fol. 14. 2.) n Toldos Jesu, p. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Her first-born son - Whether Mary had any other children or not has been a matter of controversy. The obvious meaning of the Bible is that she had; and if this be the case, the word “firstborn” is here to be taken in its common signification.

Swaddling clothes - When a child among the Hebrews was born, it was washed in water, rubbed in salt, and then wrapped in swaddling clothes; that is, not garments regularly made, as with us, but bands or blankets that confined the limbs closely, Ezekiel 16:4. There was nothing special in the manner in which the infant Jesus was treated.

Laid him in a manger - The word rendered “inn” in this verse means simply a place of halting, a lodging-place; in modern terms, a khan or caravanserai (Robinson’s “Biblical Research in Palestine,” iii. 431). The word rendered “manger” means simply a crib or place where cattle were fed. “Inns,” in our sense of the term, were anciently unknown in the East, and now they are not common. Hospitality was generally practiced, so that a traveler had little difficulty in obtaining shelter and food when necessary. As traveling became more frequent, however, khans or caravanserais were erected for public use - large structures where the traveler might freely repair and find lodging for himself and his beast, he himself providing food and forage. Many such khans were placed at regular intervals in Persia. To such a place it was, though already crowded, that Joseph and Mary resorted at Bethlehem. Instead of finding a place in the “inn,” or the part of the caravanserai where the travelers themselves found a place of repose, they were obliged to be contented in one of the stalls or recesses appropriated to the beasts on which they rode.

The following description of an Eastern inn or caravanserai, by Dr. Kitto, will well illustrate this passage: “It presents an external appearance which suggests to a European traveler the idea of a fortress, being an extensive square pile of strong and lofty walls, mostly of brick upon a basement of stone, with a grand archway entrance. This leads ...to a large open area, with a well in the middle, and surrounded on three or four sides with a kind of piazza raised upon a platform 3 or 4 feet high, in the wall behind which are small doors leading to the cells or oblong chambers which form the lodgings. The cell, with the space on the platform in front of it, forms the domain of each individual traveler, where he is completely secluded, as the apparent piazza is not open, but is composed of the front arches of each compartment. There is, however, in the center of one or more of the sides a large arched hall quite open in front ... The cells are completely unfurnished, and have generally no light but from the door, and the traveler is generally seen in the recess in front of his apartment except during the heat of the day ... Many of these caravanserais have no stables, the cattle of the travelers being accommodated in the open area; but in the more complete establishments ...there are ...spacious stables, formed of covered avenues extending between the back wall of the lodging apartments and the outer wall of the whole building, the entrance being at one or more of the corners of the inner quadrangle.

The stable is on the same level with the court, and thus below the level of the tenements which stand on the raised platform. Nevertheless, this platform is allowed to project behind into the stable, so as to form a bench ... It also often happens that not only this bench exists in the stable, forming a more or less narrow platform along its extent, but also recesses corresponding to these “in front” of the cells toward the open area, and formed, in fact, by the side-walls of these cells being allowed to project behind to the boundary of the platform. These, though small and shallow, form convenient retreats for servants and muleteers in bad weather ... Such a recess we conceive that Joseph and Mary occupied, with their ass or mule - if they had one, as they perhaps had tethered - in front ... It might be rendered quite private by a cloth being stretched across the lower part.”

It may be remarked that the fact that Joseph and Mary were in that place, and under a necessity of taking up their lodgings there, was in itself no proof of poverty; it was a simple matter of necessity there was “no room” at the inn. Yet it is worthy of our consideration that Jesus was born “poor.” He did not inherit a princely estate. He was not cradled, as many are, in a palace. He had no rich friends. He had virtuous, pious parents, of more value to a child than many riches. And in this we are shown that it is no dishonor to be poor. Happy is that child who, whether his parents be rich or poor, has a pious father and mother. It is no matter if he has not as much wealth, as fine clothes, or as splendid a house as another. It is enough for him to be as “Jesus” was, and God will bless him.

No room at the inn - Many people assembled to be enrolled, and the tavern was filled before Joseph and Mary arrived.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 2:7. Laid him in a manger — Wetstein has shown, from a multitude of instances, that φατνη means not merely the manger, but the whole stable, and this I think is its proper meaning in this place. The Latins use praesepe, a manger, in the same sense. So Virgil, AEn. vii. p. 275.

Stabant ter centum nitidi in praesepibus altis.

"Three hundred sleek horses stood in lofty stables."

Many have thought that this was a full proof of the meanness and poverty of the holy family, that they were obliged to take up their lodging in a stable; but such people overlook the reason given by the inspired penman, because there was no room for them in the inn. As multitudes were going now to be enrolled, all the lodgings in the inn had been occupied before Joseph and Mary arrived. An honest man who had worked diligently at his business, under the peculiar blessing of God, as Joseph undoubtedly had, could not have been so destitute of money as not to be able to procure himself and wife a comfortable lodging for a night; and, had he been so ill fitted for the journey as some unwarrantably imagine, we may take it for granted he would not have brought his wife with him, who was in such a state as not to be exposed to any inconveniences of this kind without imminent danger.

There was no room for them in the inn. — In ancient times, inns were as respectable as they were useful, being fitted up for the reception of travellers alone:-now, they are frequently haunts for the idle and the profligate, the drunkard and the infidel;-in short, for any kind of guests except Jesus and his genuine followers. To this day there is little room for such in most inns; nor indeed have they, in general, any business in such places. As the Hindoos travel in large companies to holy places and to festivals, it often happens that the inns (suraies) are so crowded that there is not room for one half of them: some lie at the door, others in the porch. These inns, or lodging-houses, are kept by Mohammedans, and Mussulmans obtain prepared food at them; but the Hindoos purchase rice, &c., and cook it, paying about a halfpenny a night for their lodging. WARD'S Customs.