In Hadderech, the magazine of the small group of Messianic Jews, one sentence struck me: the shepherds of the Christmas Gospel were no ordinary shepherds. The sentence came from “The life and times of Jesus the Messiah” by Alfred Edersheim.
Based on data in Jewish sources, Edersheim argues that the shepherds in the Christmas Gospel were not ordinary shepherds, but were employed by the priests in the temple. Those shepherds were specially trained and instructed. South of Jerusalem, a special area had been set aside in the fields of Ephrathah in which those shepherds pastured their sheep.
For a long time (since around 500) there has been a tradition in books that the shepherds belonged to a lower social class. However, what Ede rsheim wrote can already be found in Jewish sources around the year 0. Therefore, it seems to me that the Jewish sources who say that the shepherds of Christmas were special shepherds are correct.
Place
It was customary for the shepherds to build a tower. There was such a tower in the fields of Ephrathah, along the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The Migdal-Eder, as that sheep herd tower is called in Hebrew.
In Genesis 35, Jacob is on his way to Bethlehem with his family. Along the way, his heavily pregnant wife Rachel goes into labor. Joseph and Mary later walked the same path.
After Rachel's burial, Jacob pitched his tent in Migdal-Eder. This name also appears in Micah 4:8, which says that salvation will come to the Sheep Tower. Based on Micah 4:8, the Jewish commentary “Targum Pseudo-Jonathan” at Genesis 35:21 states that the coming of the Messiah will be announced, revealed, at Migdal-Eder, the sheep tower. That insight in that commentary proved to be true, for there the angel said: “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy.”
Inn
The meaning of the original Greek word for inn (kataluma) is very broad. It is in the sphere of guesthouse, resting place, guest room, army camp, convalescent home, upstairs room, hotel room, inn. Luke deliberately speaks of “the” inn. We involuntarily read as if there was no room in “an” inn for Joseph and Mary.
That "kataluma" in Luke 22:12 is the upper room in which the Lord Jesus had the Easter meal with his disciples. We'll keep that in mind. So, Joseph and Mary were on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Given the short distance, there would have been few or no other inns along that road. But along that road was the Migdal-Eder, the sheep tower.
Along the way, Maria's labor starts. There is that shepherd tower. There was an upper room in the tower. Could Mary possibly give birth in that upper room, that kataluma? No. There where those priestly shepherds, and among that holy company of men, there was no place for Mary. But there was room downstairs, on the ground floor in the tower. There was the sheepfold.
The ewes gave birth to their lambs in that stable. So, the first floor was therefore the maternity shed of the sheep. There, a very special Lamb was born.
Manger
The born baby Jesus was laid in a manger. But here too, we cannot help but read that the angel said that the shepherds would find the baby in a manger somewhere. But Luke indicates that it was about a specific manger, "the" manger. There was such a manger made of stone in the maternity stable. It may have served as a feeding trough, but it could also have been used for something else.
The priestly shepherds bred the sheep for the sacrificial service. All those sacrificial animals had to be suitable as a sacrificial lamb, without disease or infirmity. There was one special kind: the firstborn. The first lamb that a ewe gave birth was the firstborn for the LORD, dedicated to Him. When that firstborn lamb was born, the shepherds rubbed it clean. Then it was wrapped in cloths, so that it would remain clean and not become mutilated or dirty! Then the shepherds placed that lamb wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. Then they brought it to the temple in Jerusalem.
Mary did not give birth to her child, a child, no, she gave birth to her firstborn Son. And she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes. Just like the shepherds did in the maternity stable. The shepherds knew immediately where they had to be. At that manger, of course, where they also laid the lambs wrapped in cloth. They ran towards the farrowing stable. Meanwhile, a bright star was shining above the born Messiah.
City
To which city would they have gone, Bethlehem in the south or Jerusalem in the north? Wouldn't it have made sense for these priestly shepherds to go to Jerusalem!? To go and tell the priests. They trumpeted it everywhere in Jerusalem. Their message spread across the temple square.
Forty days later, Mary walks into Jerusalem and onto the temple square. With her Child wrapped in swaddling clothes in her arms, as if she came walking like a priest with a firstborn lamb in his arms.
(Dutch Rev. A. Maaijen)
Based on data in Jewish sources, Edersheim argues that the shepherds in the Christmas Gospel were not ordinary shepherds, but were employed by the priests in the temple. Those shepherds were specially trained and instructed. South of Jerusalem, a special area had been set aside in the fields of Ephrathah in which those shepherds pastured their sheep.
For a long time (since around 500) there has been a tradition in books that the shepherds belonged to a lower social class. However, what Ede rsheim wrote can already be found in Jewish sources around the year 0. Therefore, it seems to me that the Jewish sources who say that the shepherds of Christmas were special shepherds are correct.
Place
It was customary for the shepherds to build a tower. There was such a tower in the fields of Ephrathah, along the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The Migdal-Eder, as that sheep herd tower is called in Hebrew.
In Genesis 35, Jacob is on his way to Bethlehem with his family. Along the way, his heavily pregnant wife Rachel goes into labor. Joseph and Mary later walked the same path.
After Rachel's burial, Jacob pitched his tent in Migdal-Eder. This name also appears in Micah 4:8, which says that salvation will come to the Sheep Tower. Based on Micah 4:8, the Jewish commentary “Targum Pseudo-Jonathan” at Genesis 35:21 states that the coming of the Messiah will be announced, revealed, at Migdal-Eder, the sheep tower. That insight in that commentary proved to be true, for there the angel said: “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy.”
Inn
The meaning of the original Greek word for inn (kataluma) is very broad. It is in the sphere of guesthouse, resting place, guest room, army camp, convalescent home, upstairs room, hotel room, inn. Luke deliberately speaks of “the” inn. We involuntarily read as if there was no room in “an” inn for Joseph and Mary.
That "kataluma" in Luke 22:12 is the upper room in which the Lord Jesus had the Easter meal with his disciples. We'll keep that in mind. So, Joseph and Mary were on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Given the short distance, there would have been few or no other inns along that road. But along that road was the Migdal-Eder, the sheep tower.
Along the way, Maria's labor starts. There is that shepherd tower. There was an upper room in the tower. Could Mary possibly give birth in that upper room, that kataluma? No. There where those priestly shepherds, and among that holy company of men, there was no place for Mary. But there was room downstairs, on the ground floor in the tower. There was the sheepfold.
The ewes gave birth to their lambs in that stable. So, the first floor was therefore the maternity shed of the sheep. There, a very special Lamb was born.
Manger
The born baby Jesus was laid in a manger. But here too, we cannot help but read that the angel said that the shepherds would find the baby in a manger somewhere. But Luke indicates that it was about a specific manger, "the" manger. There was such a manger made of stone in the maternity stable. It may have served as a feeding trough, but it could also have been used for something else.
The priestly shepherds bred the sheep for the sacrificial service. All those sacrificial animals had to be suitable as a sacrificial lamb, without disease or infirmity. There was one special kind: the firstborn. The first lamb that a ewe gave birth was the firstborn for the LORD, dedicated to Him. When that firstborn lamb was born, the shepherds rubbed it clean. Then it was wrapped in cloths, so that it would remain clean and not become mutilated or dirty! Then the shepherds placed that lamb wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. Then they brought it to the temple in Jerusalem.
Mary did not give birth to her child, a child, no, she gave birth to her firstborn Son. And she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes. Just like the shepherds did in the maternity stable. The shepherds knew immediately where they had to be. At that manger, of course, where they also laid the lambs wrapped in cloth. They ran towards the farrowing stable. Meanwhile, a bright star was shining above the born Messiah.
City
To which city would they have gone, Bethlehem in the south or Jerusalem in the north? Wouldn't it have made sense for these priestly shepherds to go to Jerusalem!? To go and tell the priests. They trumpeted it everywhere in Jerusalem. Their message spread across the temple square.
Forty days later, Mary walks into Jerusalem and onto the temple square. With her Child wrapped in swaddling clothes in her arms, as if she came walking like a priest with a firstborn lamb in his arms.
(Dutch Rev. A. Maaijen)
