P
patrick457
Guest
I assume that many of you are familiar with the account of the birth of Jesus, as related by Luke (2:1-7):
In extra-biblical literature, the Greek word katalyma (the word Luke uses, and the one translated as ‘inn’ in our Bibles) has a wider connotation than “inn;” it can also mean “house,” “guest room” or similar place to rest on a journey. It is a noun form of the verb kataluo, a compound verb that translates literally as “loosen down.” As a place of rest and lodging, a katalyma was a place to loosen one’s belt and and to untie the straps on one’s pack. It was a place to sit down and unburden oneself.
When Luke speaks of a commercial inn, as he does in 10:36 (in the parable of the Good Samaritan), he uses a different word, pandokheion. The only other place where he uses katalyma is in 22:11, where it refers to the upper room where Jesus and company held the Last Supper, which is clearly not meant to mean “inn.” Mark 14:14 uses the same word to describe the upper room itself, a large second story room in a private home.
During the time of Jesus, the only inns that existed were essentially truck stops for caravans. An inn is more properly called a khan or a caravanserai. It was a place for travelers and pack animals to eat, a shelter in which to sleep overnight, a market for supplies for the road and a hangout for prostitutes and others who had absolutely no ties or roots to speak of.
Another thing is that unlike today, Bethlehem was a small town that was not near a major Roman road, so there is no reason to think that there would have been an inn there (and indeed, there is no evidence for the existence of a khan in Bethlehem). With the population of Bethlehem in this period estimated at around 1,000 inhabitants (only about a few times bigger than Nazareth, which is estimated to have had 200-400 residents at this time), and no ‘highway’ nearby, the existence of a commercial inn seems unlikely.
The ancient code of hospitality required people to give shelter and sustenance to travelers, to make themselves as comfortable as possible at the host’s expense. Travelers could seek shelter by waiting in the town gates for a stranger to invite them to stay - or they could stay with relatives. Since Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem in the region of Judea since that was his ancestral place, we could assume that Joseph, at least, may have had distant relatives in Bethlehem. Two thousand years ago, kinship ties throughout the village would have been the rule, not the exception.
The family connection, even the extended family connection, was at the heart of Ancient Near Eastern marriage practices. The practice of endogamy (cousin marriage) has always been quite common in many parts of the world. Thus, it is likely that almost everyone in Bethlehem was family of one sort or another. Everyone in town was probably even Joseph’s kin.
Many inspirational stories, sermons, and carols have been made on the innkeeper who gave Mary and Joseph room or the inns who refused them. However, did Luke really refer to an inn in Luke 2:7?
In extra-biblical literature, the Greek word katalyma (the word Luke uses, and the one translated as ‘inn’ in our Bibles) has a wider connotation than “inn;” it can also mean “house,” “guest room” or similar place to rest on a journey. It is a noun form of the verb kataluo, a compound verb that translates literally as “loosen down.” As a place of rest and lodging, a katalyma was a place to loosen one’s belt and and to untie the straps on one’s pack. It was a place to sit down and unburden oneself.
When Luke speaks of a commercial inn, as he does in 10:36 (in the parable of the Good Samaritan), he uses a different word, pandokheion. The only other place where he uses katalyma is in 22:11, where it refers to the upper room where Jesus and company held the Last Supper, which is clearly not meant to mean “inn.” Mark 14:14 uses the same word to describe the upper room itself, a large second story room in a private home.
During the time of Jesus, the only inns that existed were essentially truck stops for caravans. An inn is more properly called a khan or a caravanserai. It was a place for travelers and pack animals to eat, a shelter in which to sleep overnight, a market for supplies for the road and a hangout for prostitutes and others who had absolutely no ties or roots to speak of.
Another thing is that unlike today, Bethlehem was a small town that was not near a major Roman road, so there is no reason to think that there would have been an inn there (and indeed, there is no evidence for the existence of a khan in Bethlehem). With the population of Bethlehem in this period estimated at around 1,000 inhabitants (only about a few times bigger than Nazareth, which is estimated to have had 200-400 residents at this time), and no ‘highway’ nearby, the existence of a commercial inn seems unlikely.
The ancient code of hospitality required people to give shelter and sustenance to travelers, to make themselves as comfortable as possible at the host’s expense. Travelers could seek shelter by waiting in the town gates for a stranger to invite them to stay - or they could stay with relatives. Since Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem in the region of Judea since that was his ancestral place, we could assume that Joseph, at least, may have had distant relatives in Bethlehem. Two thousand years ago, kinship ties throughout the village would have been the rule, not the exception.
The family connection, even the extended family connection, was at the heart of Ancient Near Eastern marriage practices. The practice of endogamy (cousin marriage) has always been quite common in many parts of the world. Thus, it is likely that almost everyone in Bethlehem was family of one sort or another. Everyone in town was probably even Joseph’s kin.
