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Humiliating Circumstances CRAIG BLOMBERG, PHD DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT comparison of many different translations and versions Computer software makesoffor easypeople, therefore,asare noticing aInternational Version states of the Bible as one likes. More twist in some of the most recent English translations the Christmas story. The updated New that Mary laid the newborn Jesus, wrapped in cloths, in a manger (a feeding trough for cattle) "because there was no guest room available for them" (Luke 2:7). The Common English Bible reads "there was no place for them in the guestroom." The Complete Jewish Bible declares that "there was no room for them in the living quarters." What happened to the famous "inn" of older translations and countless Christmas cards and pageants? Sophisticated databases enable scholars to customize searches of large swaths of ancient Greek literature in ways never before possible. The results have demonstrated that a kataluma (the Greek word used in Luke 2:7 often translated "inn") in first-century Greek consistently meant that part of a house in which people rather than animals lived and, specifically, a room used to house guests or hold special events. This is how the word is used in its one other New Testament context (Luke 22:11; Mark 14:14), where it refers to the special room in which Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper, a Passover meal. Inns in the first-century Mediterranean world, on the other hand, were nefarious lodgings where no respectable people stayed, because they frequently were populated by robbers and prostitutes. It is doubtful that a town as small as Bethlehem even had one. "...BECAUSE THERE WAS NO GUEST ROOM AVAILABLE FOR THEM." (LUKE 2:7) With pilgrims with Davidic ancestry swarming this little town due to the imperial decree about the census (Luke 2:1-6), whatever relatives Joseph and Mary sought out already had filled their normal indoor sleeping space. But even a small village home, built like a tiny duplex, had an area by the door where the family's milk cow could be brought inside for the night, so a place for food and water for the animal would likewise be needed. If this was the only place left for Mary to give birth, we can understand why Jesus was laid in a manger. The humiliating circumstances of the birth of the King of Kings astound us and make us all the more grateful for every gift He has given us. 05 DECEMBER 10 DENVER SEMINARY CHRISTMAS 2013