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Scott Carnegie needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 174 designs submitted by 23 freelance designers.
We are a media production company located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We work with a lot of non-profit companies, government agencies and small to medium sized businesses and live-event companies.
We've worked on quite a diverse range of projects, some recent ones; GLBT Choir Festivals, Magician Multi-Camera Performances, Mechanical Product Training Videos.
We are small and can therefore provide very personalized service for our clients; the owner of the company is usually the one meeting with and contacting the client one on one.
Small to medium-sized business owners, marketing directors for non-profit organizations. Our typical client doesn't have a lot of experience working with media or video production, we often end up doing some education and training with the client.
This is going to mainly be used on our website, business cards, facebook, twitter and the ocassional print medium like a flyer. It will also be used for our demo video.
There are a lot of players in this market with a similar business model and being unique can be a challenge. We need a brand identity that will stand out without being alienating, the balance is important.
You can use;
Media Circus TV
Media Circus tv
or other variations that I might not have thought of.
I am looking for text and an icon to go along with it. The icon should be unique enough to be able to be stand alone for certain uses.
For example
Please, NO circus tents, circus type fonts or TV's. The design should look serious, elegant (but not too fancy), but have a unique characteristic of some sort that is memorable. I get a lot of comments about the name and current branding we have so I like having a neat twist to things.
See the current logo here, please DO NOT use this same font, I want to get away from this look and colour scheme.
Media companies need to be current with technology and that should be reflected. The logo will need to be multi-purposed for web, video and print so it should be useable in all of those applications.
We will require the source file (Photoshop or Illustrator preferred) for when we need to re-purpose it for different needs.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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I have worked to know several UPAC names of compounds but I found it hard to calculate and know the UPAC names of the following
. The book has given me the name but how to calculate to know(especially the one with no fixed state) has become the problem.
The book says Iron(II) hydroxide.
But how to calculate by using the oxidation number has become the problem.
I know only one thing - that is that I know nothing
My wife says: Learn that OH is minus one => (OH)2 is -2 => FE is +2
Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you! …………….Bob Bundy
Pages: 1

subset: commoncrawl


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A brand-new exterior profile, new engines and an array of new driver-convenience technology make the Mokka X a compelling option for fans of Vauxhall's acclaimed crossover SUV.
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A sophisticated and user-friendly satellite navigation system allows you to both plan a route to your destination and to avoid traffic. The system also helps to keep you entertained while you drive, offering access to different audio sources including digital radio, MP3 and a USB device such as a mobile phone or iPod.
The Mokka X's well-appointed interior has more than enough space for five passengers, whilst the pliant suspension and excellent body control keeps passengers comfortable even on long journeys. Higher trim levels offer particular luxury – the Elite, Elite Nav and Ultimate specification boasts such luxuries as heated leather seats, a heated leather steering wheel, and tinted rear privacy glass.
The new 1.4i Turbo 140PS petrol engine with Start/Stop functionality, as well as delivering sprightly performance, also impresses in terms of efficiency and low environmental impact.
The diesel option is even more efficient. The 1.6CDTi 136PS ecoTEC diesel with manual transmission and Start/Stop is the most frugal of all, returning superb combined fuel consumption and low carbon emissions, meaning the Mokka X is not just great to look at, it's a great drive too. For more information on the vehicle's efficiency, then please download our latest brochure today.
All Mokka X models feature front foglights, silver roof rails and OnStar as standard. Design Nav and Elite Nav models also give buyers an 8" touchscreen complete with the IntelliLink system.
Mokka X Active
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Model featured is Mokka X Elite 1.4 140PS on-the-road. Images may contain options and/or accessories at an additional cost, including Brilliant or Metallic paint. Exterior paint colour will be dependent on screen resolution. Please consult the latest brochure and price guide for more information on vehicle content, specification and pricing, or contact us for further details. *The OnStar Services rely on wireless communication networks and satellite positioning systems. Some features may not be available in certain foreign countries, for certain car lines or trim levels. Please contact us for more information or visit www.vauxhall.co.uk/onstar for a current overview of potential restrictions. Vauxhall and Dickens are not responsible for the provision of the OnStar and Wi-Fi services, which are provided by OnStar Europe Limited, a GM Company. All OnStar services and Wi-Fi services will cease to be available on December 31st, 2020. No trial or paid subscriptions or services, including emergency response services, will be available after that date. Every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this page are accurate and up-to-date. Vauxhall vehicles are equipped with components manufactured by various Vauxhall Motors Limited operating units and outside suppliers. The Company reserves the right to alter specifications and withdraw products from sale without notice. Any such alterations will be notified to Vauxhall retailers at the earliest opportunity. All calls may be recorded for training, monitoring and quality purposes. Calls to 0844 numbers cost £0.06 per minute plus your phone company's access charge.


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Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Why does herchurch exist? According to the web site:
The Christian-Lutheran Feminist/Womanist/Mujerista Movements exist to celebrate the feminine persona of God/dess and dimensions of the sacred as expressed in faith, worship, learning, mutual care, and acts of justice.
How do they do that? One of the ways is illustrated by that picture, something you can order through their web site if you've decided that Christianity just isn't cutting it for you anymore. That's what those folks call a Goddess rosary.
Thanks to David Fischler.
40 comments:
If I order one of these rosaries, will it be delivered in a plain brown envelope?
- November 1, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Had to be in California ,
- November 1, 2011 at 3:38 PM
- NORDISK-KATOLSKA KYRKAN said...
In all fairness, if they change the Saviour to the "Saviouress" (?), do they then change the "Hail Mary" to "Hail Jesus", to be really equal and in total balance or...?
Probably it's more like "Hail Myself"!
- November 1, 2011 at 5:08 PM
- Sic Transit Gloria Mundi said...
So in an effort to be "more inclusive" they just go in the opposite direction? Father = Mother and god = goddess? How is that equality for all? Clearly they deny Jesus as Son of God and 2nd Person of the Trinity. Poor souls.
- November 1, 2011 at 6:41 PM
- docudramaqueen said...
I feel like there is so much judgment flying around in these comments. If a woman feels more comfortable envisioning a woman as God the Father if you will, do you really think God is judging her for this? Many women have had traumatic experiences with men in their lives. Perhaps the only way they can safely envision the Deity is by imagining God as a woman. I was taught that God has no gender. Yes, Christ was a "man" on earth a "hu-man". And yes we say the "Son" is seated at the right hand of the Father, but if Christ is the human form of God, then he must know what it feels like for me as a woman, he must not have either a specific maleness or femaleness to his humanness in the After Life. I really doubt that God or Christ or the Holy Spirit, which in my understanding are all one, really are worried if a woman is envisioning any of them as male or female. I certainly would never tell you how to envision God in your heart of hearts.
- November 1, 2011 at 8:47 PM
- Janis Williams said...
I'm sorry, but Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. And it wasn't a clitoral circumcision. (Sorry if that's too graphic.)
Women, we need to get over scummy ex-boyfriends or husbands. They are NOT God Almighty. We are focused in the wrong direction. Men don't interpret God to us; Jesus Christ (God in human flesh) redeems men.
- November 2, 2011 at 8:11 AM
"I feel like..."--famous last words. The question is "How is God God?" And He has answered--in the Man, Jesus of Nazareth, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified for the sins of the world. "Envision"--in other words, conjure up a picture of God in your mind. But God has not left us to the imaginations of our own minds and hearts, He has revealed Himself to us in Christ, crucified. Now *there's* what a man (and for that matter, a woman) is made to be--in *that* image--giving the self wholly and purely for the sake of the other, laying down his/her life for a friend....
- November 2, 2011 at 9:38 AM
- The Underground Pewster said...
No cross, no crown.
- November 2, 2011 at 9:40 AM
Christianity has alread adopted and adapted so much paganism, a little feminism won't hurt and might help. The Roman Saturnalia got usurped for Jesus' birth and the fertility goddess Estra gave her name to the English celebration of the Pasch. The Egyptian god Ra's sun symbol became the halo of saints and the Celt's imitative magic in fire and evergreen to get the sun's return, the Christmas tree with all its lights.
We're dealing with symbols here and a healthy dose of feminism might help balance the overwhelming patriarchal distortion of Biblical imagery. God is love made actual in justice and in Christ there is neither male nor female, but a new creation.
- November 2, 2011 at 2:59 PM
- Mária Magdaléna said...
Was Maria a woman, wasn't she?
So she is our advocate, I think.
She isn't God, but she is the first in the "Heart" of the Holy Trinity.
- November 2, 2011 at 4:40 PM
- priest's wife said...
Maria M- YES! AND she was assumed body and soul into heaven- so I can get over myself for not being a man- I just need to be more like Mary
- November 2, 2011 at 7:05 PM
- Fr Tom said...
In the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church in the Order for Holy Communion used by the Continuing Anglican Churches, Jesus Christ is identified as '...our only Mediator and Advocate.'
And I have never heard the Blessed Virgin Mary descibed as 'first in the heart of the Holy Trinity.' We revere her for her role in the Incarnation of our Lord.
- November 2, 2011 at 8:10 PM
Yeah, and get a load of what they've done to the Our Father:
"Our Mother who is within us
we celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come.
Your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits
and we let go.
You support us in our power
and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us
the empowerment around us
and the celebration among us
now and for ever. Amen"
Text by Miriam Therese Winter
Medical Mission Sister, Professor
of Liturgy, Worship and Spirituality.
Author of WomanWord and other
books and resources for Ritual.
- November 2, 2011 at 8:23 PM
- Clinton said...
I'd remind readers here that folks who comment
on blogs and identify themselves as "Father Such
and Such" may not necessarily be priests. Just
- November 2, 2011 at 10:40 PM
To Clinton:
Tom and Caleb ?
- November 3, 2011 at 8:07 AM
- Anita Moore said...
docudramaqueen said...
I feel like there is so much judgment flying around in these comments. If a woman feels more comfortable envisioning a woman as God the Father if you will, do you really think God is judging her for this?
There is such a thing as objective truth, and it is possible to know the truth. In fact, we all have a duty to seek the truth. It is only the truth that sets us free. If a woman prefers to stick with what she feels comfortable with, regardless of whether it is true, then she is a slave and not free at all.
P.S. It is false to suggest that Christianity is an amalgamation of pagan symbols. The Church has baptized and adapted some customs and traditions that she regards as benign in themselves, but she has always abhorred paganism as the worship of demons. This is why the earliest Christians preferred to die rather than take part in pagan worship.
- November 3, 2011 at 11:14 AM
This is ALMOST as offensive as a diocese of my own church, the Episcopal Church trying to take another look at Pelagianism. UGH.
- November 3, 2011 at 9:31 PM
- Fr Theodore said...
Can you say, "PAGAN"?
One wishes they would just drop the charade of being followers of Christ at all; but that would not further their agenda of destroying Christianity in order to replace it with the "imagination of their hearts" (to quote a certain woman whom Scripture says will be called blessed by all generations).
- November 3, 2011 at 9:39 PM
- sonojim said...
Is that a roach-clip?
- November 3, 2011 at 10:22 PM
It looks more like a nippledangler to me.
- November 4, 2011 at 7:54 PM
- Andy said...
Luciferian, pure and simple.
- November 5, 2011 at 9:36 AM
I didn't know Lutheran's prayed the rosary.
- November 7, 2011 at 5:44 AM
- Katie said...
So it IS possible to be so open-minded that your brain falls out.
- November 8, 2011 at 6:28 PM
- Anthony S. Layne said...
"We're dealing with symbols here and a healthy dose of feminism might help balance the overwhelming patriarchal distortion of Biblical imagery."
No, what we're dealing with here is a case of pseudo-anthropology in support of clearly agenda-driven corruptions of Christianity.
- November 12, 2011 at 11:08 AM
- Cunjo said...
@Anonymus November 7 5:44AM
Well some of them do.
Also. Jesus was a man, and was crucified. No manly body and no crucifix here...
Devil always likes to pervert Catholic stuff...
- November 14, 2011 at 6:10 AM
The Episcopal Organization is in concordat with the Evangelical Lutheran Organization of America...so it's the same things...the usual suspects...
- November 14, 2011 at 6:55 PM
Offensive on so many levels, but even on their own terms: If they were REAL feminists they wouldn't have slimmed down the Venus of Willendorf.
- November 16, 2011 at 2:11 PM
The more I think about this, the more offensive it gets. It reminds me of early upper class "feminists" who used the movement (and their husband's ample salaries) as excuses to attend empowerment meetings while their "cleaning ladies" cared for the home at sub-par wages. Why go for the Christian brand at all? Have some integrity, womyn, and leave the support of the Parent Church.
- November 16, 2011 at 2:21 PM
- laBiscuitnapper said...
One thing they've got kind of right is publicity - there's a trailer here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4639219646887101318&q=church&pr=goog-sl which didn't help cure my initial impression that this was a spoof of some kind...
- November 17, 2011 at 6:29 PM
If you touch it, does it make you pregnant?
- January 10, 2012 at 5:13 AM
Religion pretty much makes it up as it goes along, anyway. They're just more bizarre and out there about it.
And you're both shrinking away, so please don't claim that "This is why our church is losing members."
- January 30, 2012 at 12:57 PM
And "discreetly billed" on my credit card statement?
- April 20, 2012 at 11:56 PM
God the Father has REVEALED himself to us as such; if we are uncomfortable with this, we should consider a few things: (i) When we try to re-make God as we wish him to be, we reject who He is; (ii) God is the perfect Father - in our broken sinfulness, we have him as the example of how a father should be and so no one ought to be intimidated by the fatherly identity; (iii) plenty of men have had traumatic experiences with women - so what is your point?!? (iv) A lesson in the English language: there is no "man" in "hu-man" - the English word "man" is of German origin and "human" Latin. The Latin word for "man" is "homo." (v) Jesus resurrected from the dead as a man - and this is what He shall be for all eternity, just as each of shall eternally possess a body of the sex we are now. Ever heard of the Assumtion of Mary? She has her ressurected body already and is just as much woman as on earth - she, whom Catholics call "Queen of Heaven," "Queen of the Angels," " Queen of the Apostles," "Mother of God," "Mary, Seat of Wisdom" and the "Co-redemptress." (Still think Christianity has little regard for women, anyone? Does any created man being have a status which even approaches that of this created woman?
- April 21, 2012 at 12:17 AM
It is gravely wrong of us to "envision God in our hearts" as each of us wishes. There is only one God and He has REVEALED to us his person and nature. We MUST NOT try to re-make him in our own image, each according to his whims. God cannot be multille versions of himself anymore than reality can exist in multiple versions. Thinking or wishing for something to be other than what it is does not cause it to be so! Shall we be like the ancient Greeks whose image of gods was of entities exceeding in vanity, selfishness and ego?
- April 21, 2012 at 12:24 AM
What utter, simplistic and unimformed nonsense! The choosing of Dec 25 has nothing to do with Saturnalia - which some scholars in fact believe was created by the pagans to compete with the celebration of Christ's birth. The Bible indicates the date of Christ's death - the 15th day of Nisan. That can be calculated as being March 25. The Jews of first century Palestine believed that a great man (a messiah, for example) would die on the same day as he was conceived. Add nine months to 25 March and you have... tah-dah!!! Why don't you try putting down the silly PC text books and try doing some REAL research into the venerable origins of your own faith? "Pasch" comes from the Hebrew "pesach" ("passover"). (I presume you understand the connection between Passover and Easter...) As for Christmas trees, do you know which tree was in tbe center of Eden? The tree of life - which the Cross became for us. And for crying out loud, stop looking to NatGeo and the Discovery Channel to inform you about Christian history and theology!!!
- April 21, 2012 at 12:41 AM
You may revere her only for her role in tbe Incarnation, but for 1,900 years Christians have in fact revered her as a mediator and advocate. There is no competing with the role of Christ in this: as sons and daughters (heirs), God gives sets aside for each of us a share in his salvific work. (As St. Paul writes, my sufferings complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ on tbe cross.) Consider this: if your dearest friend were going into surgery tomorrow, would you not pray to God for them to be safe? Would you not mediate, intercede and advocate with God on their behalf? If Mary is already with God in Heaven, how much more can she mediate, intercede and advocate? Did not Jesus perform his first public miracle at her behest? When one wished to present a petition to the King of Israel, one went to the Queen Mother - as Christians we believe that the Davidic kingdom foreshadowed the Heavely one. Revelation tells us that the saints in Heaven assist us in this life - the communion of the mystical Body of Christ does not end when we get to Heaven; rather, it is amplified!
- April 21, 2012 at 12:51 AM
To paraphrase the disciple: "Lord, teach us how we ought to pray - that we may heartily disregard thee and go our own way!"
- April 21, 2012 at 12:52 AM
"Our Mother who is within us
we celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come.
Your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us."
Sounds like a pagan rite to me.
"You remind us of our limits
and we let go.
You support us in our power
and we act with courage." Sounds like self-esteem-pop-psych from the 80s to me.
"the empowerment around us
and the celebration among us
now and for ever. Amen" Uh-oh.
Text by Miriam Therese Winter
- July 27, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Our Mother who is within us
we celebrate your many names."
And those names would be....Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana,....etc, etc,
- August 20, 2012 at 6:07 PM
- te'Shara Chelle said...
Pagans are polytheistic, so unless they worship more than one god, they're not remotely pagan.
- August 26, 2012 at 7:33 PM


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Turn 63 – Big Period and Nuts
October 23, 2011 2 Comments
Featuring Joey, John "Knobs", John "MusiM", and Lauren.
Music by MusiM. Buy the new album at musim.bandcamp.com
Our intended topics of discussion are Paranormal Activity 3, Adventure Time, The Walking Dead, Fast Five, Modern Family, Metro 2033, Demon's Souls, Might and Magic Dark Messiah, Batman Arkham City, Gantz, and Richard Matheson.
Be sure and email us for the next show at firstname.lastname@example.com!


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A Christian apologetics ministry dedicated to demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible through archaeological and biblical research.
Our understanding of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus are usually formed by our exposure to the traditional Christmas story. Upon further examination of the Biblical references, archaeological evidence and 1st century cultural context, the details surrounding Jesus' birth may be quite different than we have traditionally thought... Continue reading
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This article was reproduced in the Fall 2007 issue of Bible and Spade.
Why would Joseph, "of the lineage of David," in the city of his family's origin have to seek shelter in an inn and be turned out into a stable? Recently this question was put to me here in Beirut. This paper presents an answer. In this brief study I will attempt to demonstrate that Jesus was born in a private home and that the "inn" of Luke 2:7 is best understood as the guest room of the family in whose house the birth took place. Recent studies have primarily focused on Luke's theological interests.1 The concern here is the Palestinian cultural background of verses 6–7 which we understand to be traditional material. Indeed, a more precise analysis of that background is critical for both a clearer understanding of the original tradition as well as any interpretation of its use within the Lucan framework.
The Palestinian background of the entire text (vv. 1–7) is clear and strong. Five striking Middle Eastern details mark the passage. First, the author reflects an accurate knowledge of Palestinian geography when he has the Holy Family "go up" from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Second, the custom of "swaddling" infants is a Palestinian village custom, which is observable as early as Ezekiel 16:4 and is still practiced today. Third, the extended family of David is referred to in the oriental fashion as a "house." This is then amplified for the non-Middle Eastern reader with the fuller phrase, "house and lineage of David." Fourth, a Davidic Christology informs the text. Finally, Bethlehem is given two names, "city of David" (which presupposes some knowledge of Old Testament history), and "Bethlehem." Given the Palestinian nature of the material, we will attempt to examine the Middle Eastern cultural background of the story with care.
The cultural assumptions of this text are particularly critical because the story comes to us through a long Church tradition. Most modern versions of that story follow a familiar pattern. The Holy Family arrives late in the night. The local inn has its "no vacancy" sign clearly displayed. The tired couple seeks alternatives and finds none. With no other option, wearied from their journey and desperate for any shelter because of the imminent delivery, they spend the night in a stable where the child is born. But the cornerstone of this popular pageantry is flatly denied in the text of Luke. Popular tradition affirms that the child was born the night the family arrived. But in 2:4 we are told that Mary and Joseph "went up" to Bethlehem. The verse assumes their arrival. Then in verse six we are told, "And while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to be delivered." Thus the text affirms a time lapse between the arrival in Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus. Mary "fulfilled her days" in Bethlehem.2 We can easily assume a few weeks have passed, perhaps even a month or more. Thus the birth took place in shelter found by Joseph during those weeks. Was Joseph so totally incompetent that he could provide nothing by way of adequate housing after a significant number of days of searching? Was Bethlehem so hardhearted that, after days and days of intense negotiation, a man with a pregnant wife was turned out by everyone? Surely not. How then is the text to be understood? To be specific, where was the manger, and what was the inn? These questions will be discussed in turn.
For centuries, large sections of the Church have assumed that the manger was in an animal stable. Three overlapping questions arise here, which of necessity must be discussed together:
1. Was the birthplace a cave?
2. Was it a stable or a private home?
3. Was it inside or outside the village?
I will try to demonstrate that the place was likely a private home in the village, and may have been a cave.
In the second century, Justin tells us that Jesus was born in a cave outside the city of Bethlehem. The problem is not the cave as such, but rather Justin's placement of it "outside the village." Many Palestinian village homes are built into caves.3 Yet Justin's overall statement seems less than reliable. Due to the influence it has had, this text requires close examination. The statement reads:
But when the child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger, and here the Magi came from Arabia and found Him. I have repeated to you...what Isaiah foretold about the sign which foreshadowed the Cave.4
But when the child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger, and here the Magi came from Arabia and found Him. I have repeated to you...what Isaiah foretold about the sign which foreshadowed the Cave.4
Map of first century Palestine. The journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a significant distance for an expectant mother to have traveled in those days.
The Isaiah passage alluded to is Isaiah 33:16, which in its LXX version reads, "He shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock." One is obliged to suspect that Plummer is right when he accuses Justin of a tendency to "turn prophecy into history."5 Indeed, all through his dialogue Justin tries very hard to convince his antagonist that Jesus is the Messiah by citing proof texts from the Old Testament. The above passage is no exception. We see the same methodology in his dealing with Genesis 49:11, which mentions tying a colt to a vine. In his commentary on the account of the passion in Luke 19:30–33, suddenly a vine appears. Justin writes, "For the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the entrance of the village."6 Yet in another place Justin uses the same Old Testament verse, but applies his allegories in a different fashion and the vine disappears.7 Thus it would appear that tradition is created, or at least shaped, to fit "prophecy."
On the positive side, we note the absence of the late-night arrival story. Justin has taken seriously the fact that the text clearly affirms an extended presence in the village before the birth. But the reader is left with two problems. First, the phrase "while they were there" is applied to the cave outside the village rather than to the village itself (as in Lk 2:4). Secondly, we are told that Bethlehem turned Joseph and Mary out and thus they turned to a cave outside the village. The latter is problematic on two counts. First, Mary's relative, Elizabeth, whom she had just visited (Lk 1:39), lived somewhere nearby in the "hill country of Judea." If Joseph was rejected in Bethlehem and had no remaining family in the area, he could have turned to Mary's family and easily found shelter. Secondly, Luke tells us the shepherds visited the baby and were overjoyed at all they had heard and seen (Lk 2:20). As Middle Eastern peasants they surely would have noticed the accommodations offered the Holy Family. If they had been inadequate, as good villagers they would have immediately helped the family make other arrangements. The text gives no hint that anyone was displeased. Thus, despite its antiquity, Justin's exegesis and his direct and indirect violation of the clear statements of Luke arouse grave suspicions regarding the accuracy of his account of a birth outside the village.
At the same time, the cave tradition itself may be historical. As indicated, many peasant homes in Palestine in the past were, or began as, caves. Thus, Justin's "cave" and Matthew's "house" (Mt 2:11) could be the same place. The manger is not a problem, as we will see. The same cave tradition (again outside the village) is repeated in the Protevangelium of James, along with the addition of the late-night-arrival myth. In the Protevangelium, the "days were fulfilled" not in the cave but along the way. Joseph and Mary have to stop because, as Mary says, "the child within me presses me, to come forth." They are in a desert, and Joseph finds a cave (17:3–18:1) where the child is born and a number of gynecological wonders take place.8 Here we have clearly moved from typology to exaggerated myth. Among other things, the hill country of Judea is hardly a desert (the pressure in both texts to have the birth take place outside of Bethlehem may be theological, as we will observe). Thus, having judged the outside-the-village tradition as textually inaccurate and historically unreliable, and having found no objections to the cave, we turn to an examination of the internal evidence of the text itself.
All of the internal cultural evidence from the story points to a birth in a private home. This data is of two kinds: the make-up of the Middle Eastern extended family, and the physical structure of the Palestinian peasant home.
In Luke 2 we are told that Joseph was returning to the village of Bethlehem from whence his family originated. The Middle Easterner is profoundly attached to his village of family origin. Indeed, though he himself may not have been born there, his home village is an integral part of his identity.9 Even if he has never been there before he can appear suddenly at the home of a distant cousin, recite his genealogy, and he is among friends. Joseph had only to say, "I am Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Matthan, son of Eleazar, the son of Eliud," and the immediate response must have been, "You are welcome. What can we do for you?" If Joseph did have some member of the extended family resident in the village, he was honor-bound to seek them out. Furthermore, if he did not have family or friends in the village, as a member of the famous house of David, for the "sake of David," he would still be welcomed into almost any village home. Yet, if we reject both of these alternatives and assume that Joseph did not have family or friends, and did not appeal to the name of David, even if he was a total stranger appearing in a strange village— still he would be able to find shelter for the birth of a child. Indeed, the birth of a child is a special occasion in any culture anywhere in the world. The idea that a woman about to give birth cannot find shelter and assistance from the village women in a Middle Eastern village, even if she is a total stranger, staggers the imagination. We are pressed to affirm on the basis of everything we know of Middle Eastern village life that Joseph most likely sought out and found adequate shelter in Bethlehem. This shelter, we assume, was an occupied private home, for it had a guest room that was full (as we will discover).
What then of the manger? The text tells us, "She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger." The traditional understanding of this verse in the Western world moves along the following path. Jesus was laid in a manger. Mangers are naturally found in animal stables. Ergo, Jesus was born in a stable. However, in the one-room peasant homes of Palestine and Lebanon, the manger is built into the floor of the house. The standard one-room village home consists of a living area for the family (Arabic mastaba), mangers built into the floor for feeding the animals (mostly at night), and a small area approximately four feet lower than the living area into which the family cow or donkey is brought at night (Arabic ka'al-bayt).
The family animals were kept in the one-room house at night, but taken out early each morning.
The text of the New Testament itself alludes to the one-room peasant home in Matthew 5:15 where it states that a lamp is put on a lampstand so that it "gives light to all who are in the house." Obviously, the house must have one room if a single lamp shines on everyone in it. Furthermore, the one-room house with a lower end for the animals is presupposed in Luke 13:10–17. The family ox and/or donkey was brought into the house at night and taken out early each morning. Thus, everyone knew that every family with any animals carried out this simple domestic chore at the start of each new day. To leave the animals in the house during the day was socially and culturally unthinkable. All of this is presupposed by the text. Jesus knew the head of the synagogue had untied his animals that very morning and led them out of the house. With calm assurance Jesus could announce to his face that he did, in fact, lead his animals out that very morning, confident there would be no reply. Were animals kept in a separate stable, the head of the synagogue could have saved face by asserting firmly, "I never touch the animals on the Sabbath." But if he tried to claim that he leaves the animals in the house all day, the people in the synagogue would ridicule him with laughter! In short, no one would believe him. Thus the debate ends simply, "As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame" (v.17). Thus, in the case of Luke 2:7, any Palestinian reading the phrase, "She laid him in a manger," would immediately assume that the birth took place in a private home, because he knows that mangers are built into the floor of the raised terrace of the peasant home.
This assumption is an important part of the story. The shepherds were told that the presence of the baby in a manger was a sign for them. Shepherds were near the bottom of the social ladder and indeed, their profession was declared unclean by some of their rabbis.10 Many places would not welcome them. In many homes they would feel their poverty and be ashamed of their low estate. But no—they faced no humiliation as they visited that child, for he was laid in a manger. That is, he was born in a simple peasant home with the mangers in the family room. He was one of them. With that assurance they left with haste.
The details of the one-room peasant home with its manger in the floor have not gone unnoticed. William Thomson,long- term Presbyterian missionary in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, wrote in 1857:
It is my impression that the birth actually took place in an ordinary house of some common peasant, and that the baby was laid in one of the mangers, such as are still found in the dwellings of farmers in this region.11
It is my impression that the birth actually took place in an ordinary house of some common peasant, and that the baby was laid in one of the mangers, such as are still found in the dwellings of farmers in this region.11
The two leading 20th century authorities on Palestinian life and the New Testament are Gustaf Dalmann and E.F.F. Bishop. Bishop comments on Luke 2:7 and writes:
Perhaps...recourse was had to one of the Bethlehem houses with the lower section provided for the animals, with mangers "hollowed in stone," the dais being reserved for the family. Such a manger being immovable, filled with crushed straw, would do duty for a cradle. An infant might even be left in safety, especially if swaddled, when the mother was absent on temporary business.12
Perhaps...recourse was had to one of the Bethlehem houses with the lower section provided for the animals, with mangers "hollowed in stone," the dais being reserved for the family. Such a manger being immovable, filled with crushed straw, would do duty for a cradle. An infant might even be left in safety, especially if swaddled, when the mother was absent on temporary business.12
Dalmann, in his study of the same verse, records:
In the East today the dwelling place of man and beast is often in one and the same room. It is quite the usual thing among the peasants for the family to live, eat, and sleep on a kind of raised terrace (Arab. mastaba) in the one room of the house, while the cattle, particularly the donkeys and oxen, have their place below on the actual floor (ka' al-bet) near the door.... On this floor the mangers are fixed either to the floor or to the wall, or at the edge of the terrace.13
In the East today the dwelling place of man and beast is often in one and the same room. It is quite the usual thing among the peasants for the family to live, eat, and sleep on a kind of raised terrace (Arab. mastaba) in the one room of the house, while the cattle, particularly the donkeys and oxen, have their place below on the actual floor (ka' al-bet) near the door.... On this floor the mangers are fixed either to the floor or to the wall, or at the edge of the terrace.13
Dalmann himself has nearly 100 pages of photographs and scale drawings of a wide variety of such peasant homes, all of which fit his two-level description given above.14 Thus a peasant home is the natural place for the Holy Family to have found shelter and the expected place to find a manger. In the case of Luke 2:7 the home which entertained the Holy Family presumably was not expecting a baby and did not have a cradle, but with a manger built into the floor there was little need for one.15 So why has this rather obvious alternative remained obscured? In some cases it would seem that the cultural assumptions of the exegetes have set it aside.
In spite of the above quotation, Dalmann defends the traditional "lonely birth in a stable" for culturally revealing reasons. Dalmann feels Joseph could have had space in the inn, but "no room for them" means "no suitable room for the birth" (italics mine).16 Dalmann argues that neither "inn," nor "guest house," nor "private home" would have provided the necessary privacy, and thus Joseph must have sought out and found an empty stable. In defense of his views Dalmann writes:
Anyone who has lodged with Palestinian peasants knows that notwithstanding their hospitality the lack of privacy is unspeakably painful. One cannot have a room to oneself, and one is never alone by day or by night. I myself often fled into the open country simply in order to be able to think.17
Anyone who has lodged with Palestinian peasants knows that notwithstanding their hospitality the lack of privacy is unspeakably painful. One cannot have a room to oneself, and one is never alone by day or by night. I myself often fled into the open country simply in order to be able to think.17
The amazing part of Dalmann's remarkable discussion is the assumption that the Holy Family wanted to be alone. Rather, it is the German professor who finds the lack of privacy "unspeakably painful," not the Palestinian peasant. For the Middle Eastern peasant the exact opposite is true. To be alone is unspeakably painful. He does his thinking in a crowd. Naturally, in the case of a birth, the men will sit apart with the neighbors, but the room will be full of women assisting the midwife.18 A private home would have bedding, facilities for heating water and all that is required for any peasant birth. Dalmann's Western sense of the need for privacy has led him to misread his own meticulously gathered data. His conclusion, that the need for privacy would have forced Mary and Joseph to reject the option of either inn or home in preference for an empty stable, is truly incredible when seen from a Middle Eastern point of view.
Brown observes that in inns people slept on a raised terrace with the animals in the same room. He remarks, "The public inns of the time should not be pictured as snug or comfortable according to medieval or modern standards.19 This we grant. But our point is that a room full of people sleeping together with the animals on a lower level in the same room is snug and comfortable in the eyes of the traditional Middle Eastern gregarious peasant, even in modern times. These reservations can be set aside; and we can say in summary that all aspects of the story, from the precise requirements of the text, to the structure of the peasant home, the dynamics of the extended family, and the sociology of the peasant village, point to a birth in a private home.
1800 view of Bethlehem as it looked and was drawn by the writer J. Leslie Porter who spent years living in Palestine.
This brings us to the second half of our inquiry. What, then, was the "inn"? The traditional understanding of Luke 2:7b, "For there was no place for them in the kataluma," is that Joseph went to the local commercial inn and was turned away, and then sought shelter in a stable, perhaps the stable of the inn itself. This understanding is seen here as inadequate, from both a cultural and linguistic point of view. In this section we will try to demonstrate that the crowded kataluma was most probably the "guest room" of the home in which the Holy Family found lodging.
This key word, kataluma, which in the West is traditionally translated as "inn," has at least five meanings. Three of these— "inn," "house," and "guest room" —are worth considering in connection with Luke 2:7, and must be examined in turn.
First is the traditional "inn." An inn by definition is a commercial establishment for strangers and travelers. Brown feels that some kind of a commercial inn is likely because
In New Testament times the religious feeling about hospitality to strangers (characteristic of tribal and nomadic cultures) had declined, so that if the traveler did not have friends or relatives in an area, he had to seek more impersonal shelter.20
In New Testament times the religious feeling about hospitality to strangers (characteristic of tribal and nomadic cultures) had declined, so that if the traveler did not have friends or relatives in an area, he had to seek more impersonal shelter.20
His only evidences for this remarkable statement are the facts that the Romans built stopping places for merchants and synagogues sometimes provided hospitality. However, the present author's thirty-year experience with villagers in the Middle East is that the intensity of honor shown to the passing guest is still very much in force, especially when it is a returning son of the village who is seeking shelter. We have observed cases where a complete village has turned out in a great celebration to greet a young man who has suddenly arrived unannounced in the village, which his grandfather had left many years before. Naturally, differences of language, custom and politics obliged Roman imperialists to make their own arrangements. We grant that, occasionally, overflow Jewish guests were obliged to sleep in the synagogue. But that does not detract from the special hospitality that the Middle Eastern villager in past and present extends to guests in general, and to one of his own in particular. Thus, we can affirm that the presence of Roman mansions and the opening of synagogues for Jewish guests in no way demonstrated a significant decline of the traditional Middle Eastern hospitality, especially if the guest claimed the village as his ancestral home.
But more than this, the very idea of the inn is problematic on many grounds. First, Luke uses pandokheion to designate a commercial inn (cf. Lk 10:36). This common word for an inn is not found in our text. Second, the only other use of the noun kataluma in the Gospels is in Luke 22:11 (and its parallel passage in Mark 14:14) where it clearly does not mean an inn. Third, as we have observed, a man returning to his home village insults his family or friends by going to an inn. Fourth, it remains quite uncertain as to whether Bethlehem would have had a commercial inn. Jeremiah tells of a company of people who stayed at "Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem" (Jer 41:17). The word "Geruth" may well mean a lodging place, but even so, this hardly demonstrates that such a place was still in business in Bethlehem 500 years later, after the area had been overrun by Babylonians, Greeks, Ptolemies, Seleucids and Romans. We are not aware of any evidence for a commercial inn near or in the village after the exile. Inns, then as now, were found on major roads. No major Roman road passed through Bethlehem, and small villages on minor roads had no inns. Brown's phrase, "the well-known traveler's inn at or near Bethlehem," is hardly justified.21 Fifth, any type of inn is culturally unacceptable as a place for the birth of a child. It is not a matter of privacy (as suggested by Dalmann), but rather the deeply felt sense that a birth should take place in a home. The text does not say that the kataluma was not fit, but rather that it was full. Thus the kataluma was a place where the birth could appropriately have taken place, and an inn was not such a place. Finally, the Arabic and Syriac versions have never, in 1900 years, translated kataluma with the word "inn." This translation is a product of our Western heritage. Thus, from many points of view, "inn" is inadequate as a translation of kataluma.
What, then, of "house"? The New English Bible translates kataluma as "house." This understanding is an encouraging move in the right direction. With it the culturally unacceptable translation of "inn" is abandoned and the Holy Family is assumed to be under the protection and shelter of a private home. Yet the translation "house" creates two insurmountable problems. First, the manger is in the house, so why should we be told that Mary was driven out of the place where mangers are located, yet then be told she placed her child in a manger? Second, if Joseph and Mary were welcomed into a home, the master of the home would never have turned an expectant mother out into a stable. These considerations effectively eliminate this option.
"No room in the inn"? It appears that it would be more accurate to translate Luke 2:7 as, "No room in the guest room." Gene Fackler
What, then, of our third alternative? In Luke 2:7 kataluma is best understood as "guest room." This is clearly what the word means in Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14. As external linguistic evidence is uncertain, it would seem appropriate to give greater weight to internal evidence. Bishop writes, "If kataluma means guest room in Mark and Luke at the end of the Lord's life why not at the start in Bethlehem?"22 This suggestion has recently been defended by Miguens.23 Brown rejects Miguens' proposal and leaves the problem unsolved. Brown argues first against kataluma being a "private home" of some relative because of the absence of "some explanation for the lack of hospitality to an in-law about to bear a child."24 He rejects a "room in a house" because that argument has been attached by some scholars to an unconvincing additional argument about a cradle slung from the ceiling, and because the kataluma has the definite article. In regard to Brown's reasoning, we can reply that the private home he suggests may or may not be that of a relative. No unkindness or lack of hospitality is implied when the Holy Family is taken into the main family room of the home in which they are entertained. The guest room is full. The host is not expected to ask prior guests (or a recently married son) to leave. Such would be quite unthinkable and, in any case, unnecessary. The large family room is more appropriate in any case. We grant that the suggestion of a cradle slung from the ceiling is linguistically and culturally unconvincing, but the translation of "guest room" for kataluma should be separated from it in any case. In regard to the definite article, the "guest room" of Luke 22:11 also has the definite article, and there the meaning "guest room" is unmistakable. We would counter that the presence of the definite article reinforces our contention. It is not "a room" but rather "the guest room," more specifically, "the guest room" of a home, naturally. This option admirably fulfills both the linguistic requirements of the text and the cultural requirements of the village scene. This translation gives new understanding to the story of Jesus' birth. Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem. They find shelter with a family whose separate guest room is full, and are accommodated among the family in acceptable village style. The birth takes place there on the raised terrace of the family home, and the baby is laid in a manger.
The text is cryptic and begs for some additional information. Yet, if we assume the perspective of a Palestinian reader, the present form of the verse makes good sense. The author records, "And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger." The (Palestinian) reader instinctively thinks, "Manger—oh—they are in the main family room. Why not the guest room?" The author instinctively replies, "Because there was no place for them in the guest room." The reader concludes, "Ah, yes—well, the family room is more appropriate anyway." Thus, with the translation "guest room," all of the cultural, historical and linguistic pieces fall into place.
This brings us to a further question, namely, did simple one-room homes have guest rooms? The objection could be raised that a one-room home was surely too simple to have a guest room. The assumption here is that no one wanted animals in the house, and anyone with the resources to build a guest room would surely have first built a stable, but such was not the case. The traditional Middle Eastern farmer lived close to nature and in fact did want the animals in his house for at least two reasons he could verbalize. First, the animals helped heat the house in winter.25 Second, keeping them in the same room the villager slept in assured that they would not be stolen. Surely the head of the synagogue in Luke 13:15 could be classed socially a bit above the average farmer. Yet, as we observed, the text assumes that he has animals in the house. It is we in the West who have decided that life with these great gentle beasts is culturally unacceptable. The raised terrace on which the family ate, slept and lived was unsoiled by the animals, which were taken out each day and during which time the lower level was cleaned. Their presence was in no way offensive. Furthermore, Dalmann gives a number of detailed drawings of village homes which precisely document our point. In his plate n.31, the family room is a great long room requiring three sets of pillars to support the roof. Still, the home is one room, consisting of the family living room terrace (Wohnterrasse) and a lower level (Hausboden) with mangers (Futtertroger) built into the floor of the former. This same house has an adjoining special guest room (Gastehaus). Such a home precisely fits the requirements of Luke 2:7.26
This leads us to ask whether this option has been considered by modern scholars other than Bishop, Dalmann, Thompson and Miguens. Scholarship has long noted "guest room" as a primary meaning for kataluma. Moulton and Milligan suggest "lodging place" for Luke 2:7 and observe, "Elsewhere in Biblical Greek, e.g. I Kings 1:13 (sic. 1:18), Mk 14:14, it has rather the sense of 'guest room'."27 Plummer long ago questioned the translation "inn" for kataluma. He writes:
It is possible that Joseph had relied upon the hospitality of some friends in Bethlehem, whose "guest chamber" however was already full when he and Mary arrived. See on xxii.11.28
It is possible that Joseph had relied upon the hospitality of some friends in Bethlehem, whose "guest chamber" however was already full when he and Mary arrived. See on xxii.11.28
Leaney used the translation "lodging house," but does not discuss the question.29 Marshall and Danker reject "inn," preferring "room in a house," but then affirm the birthplace to be some place for animals.30 Brown leaves the question unanswered and translates "lodgings" for kataluma.31 In short, Luke's own meaning of "guest room" has long been recognized but not used in translations due to an inadequate understanding of the wider cultural background of the Palestinian village home with its mangers in the family room.
This brings us to an important final question: how has the text been understood in the Middle East itself? Presumably, the cultural origins of the text would be understood here in the Middle East and reflected in translation and commentary. What then do we find?
We have observed that Justin allows for time spent in the village and then insists that Joseph found nothing and resorted to a cave outside the village. The cave tradition we have accepted. But why the insistence by Justin and the Protevangelium of James that the birth took place outside the village rather than in it as Luke simply states? After reading a number of Arabic and Syriac fathers' writings on the question, one has the distinct feeling there is an unspoken subjective pressure to understand the birth as having taken place without witnesses because of the sacred nature of the "mother of God" giving birth to the "Son of God." Even as the sacraments are consecrated in utter seclusion behind an altar screen, so the eyes of even the faithful might not look on the holy event, even so Middle Eastern Christology, Mariology and piety seem to combine to insist that the birth took place where no eye beheld the divine mystery. For this to be possible the story must take place outside the village in some secluded spot. Is it not possible to assume Justin's outside-the-village account coming from this kind of theological pressure? We can add to this the early allegorization of the text of the New Testament, where attention is focused on the mystical and allegorical meanings behind words, and the exegete is not interested in the humanness of the incarnation in its Palestinian setting. A revealing retelling of Justin's account, combined with elaborate allegory, can be seen in the work of the great 12th century commentator of the Syriac church, ibn Salîbî. He interprets Luke 2:7b by saying:
Spiritually interpreted, the wrapping with cloths and wraps signifies that the Christ bore our sins and that He was nailed to the Cross in order to cleanse the old man by His blood. Also the cloths and wraps are a sign of poverty and freedom from this world and its goods. He allowed Himself to be put down in a manger so that He could arise on behalf of the human race which is like beasts and animals in that it committed the crime of base rebellion. Thus Christ endured all of this to return us to Himself and to give us the power of life and the drink of the wine of joy.
Spiritually interpreted, the wrapping with cloths and wraps signifies that the Christ bore our sins and that He was nailed to the Cross in order to cleanse the old man by His blood. Also the cloths and wraps are a sign of poverty and freedom from this world and its goods. He allowed Himself to be put down in a manger so that He could arise on behalf of the human race which is like beasts and animals in that it committed the crime of base rebellion. Thus Christ endured all of this to return us to Himself and to give us the power of life and the drink of the wine of joy.
It is said that the manger refers to the tomb because the master will die and be buried in a tomb that looks like a manger. Luke explains the placing of the Christ in a manger by saying that there was no place for Mary and Joseph in any of the lodging places or houses because of the many travelers from the house of David coming for the registration. So the two of them were obliged to go to a cave near Bethlehem which was a shelter for animals (my translation).32
It is said that the manger refers to the tomb because the master will die and be buried in a tomb that looks like a manger. Luke explains the placing of the Christ in a manger by saying that there was no place for Mary and Joseph in any of the lodging places or houses because of the many travelers from the house of David coming for the registration. So the two of them were obliged to go to a cave near Bethlehem which was a shelter for animals (my translation).32
Here we enter an entirely different exegetical world. This venerable father's account is rich in the spirituality of his age and his tradition is well worth reading. It is of little help, however, in our attempt at recovering the original Palestinian intent of the material. The Arabic and Syriac versions, like Brown, have opted for neutral words, such as "lodgings," as their traditions focus on the allegories of the medieval period. What, then, does all of this mean for the faithful as we look forward to the recollection of the miracle of the incarnation?
We all face the enormous weight of church tradition which surrounds us with the "no room at the inn" mythology. If our conclusions are valid, thousands of good Christmas sermons, plays, filmstrips, films, poems, songs and books will have to be discarded. But is the traditional myth of a lonely birth in a stable a help or a hindrance to the reality the text proclaims? Surely a more authentic cultural understanding enhances the meaning of the story, rather than diminishing it. Jesus was rejected at His birth by Herod, but the Bethlehem shepherds welcomed Him with great joy, as did the common people in later years. The city of David was true to its own, and the village community provided for Him. He was born among them, in the natural setting of the birth of any village boy, surrounded by helping hands and encouraging women's voices. For centuries Palestinian peasants have been born on the raised terraces of the one-room family homes. The birth of Jesus was no different. His incarnation was authentic. His birth most likely took place in the natural place for a peasant to be born—in a peasant home.
We can and should theologize on the glorious resurrected Christ who meets us in the Eucharist. But a proper understanding of the story of His birth forces us to not lose sight of the One who "took upon himself the form of a servant and was found in the likeness of man." And, after all, it is still possible for us to sing:
Ox and ass before Him bow,
For He is in the manger now,
Christ is born to save,
Christ is born to save.
(Reprinted by permission from the Theological Review of the Near East School of Theology, Vol. 2, No. II, November 1979.)
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1 M. Baily, "The Crib and Exegesis of Luke 2, 1–20," Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 100 (1963), 358–376; R.E. Brown, "VI. The Birth and Naming of Jesus," in The Birth of the Messiah (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1977), pp. 393–434; J.D.M. Derrett, "The Manger: Ritual Law and Soteriology," Theology, 74 (1971), 566–571, and "The Manger at Bethlehem: Light on St. Luke's Technique from Contemporary Jewish Religious Law," in Studia Evangelica, VI, edited by L. A. Livingston (Berlin: Akademia-Verlag, 1973), pp. 86, 94; C.H. Giblin, "Refl ections on the Sign of the Manger," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 29 (1957), 87, 101; M.D. Goulder and M.L. Sanderson, "St. Luke's Genesis" Journal of Theological Studies 8 (1957), 12–30; H.L. MacNeill, "The Sitz im Leben of Luke 1:5–2:20," Journal of Biblical Literature 65 (1946), 123–130; R.M. Wilson, "Some Recent Studies in the Lucan Infancy Narrative," Studia Evangelica I (Berlin: Akademia, 1959), 235–253: P. Winter, "Some Observations on the Language in the Birth and Infancy Stories of the Third Gospel," New Testament Studies 1 (1954–55), 111–121.
2 A single Greek text from the sixth century (Bezae) gives an interesting variant to 6a. It reads, "As they arrived the days were completed," rather than "It came to pass while they were there the days were fulfilled." The Bezaen text has no support from any earlier Greek texts and none from the early versions. It would seem that Bezae has been accommodated to the myth of a late arrival on the night of the birth. The transcribers of the Bezae text were more consistent than we are. Our text denies a late night arrival theory and yet we manage to maintain it.
3 Dalmann has a diagram of just such a house from a village near Jerusalem. In this particular instance the entire one room house is in the cave. Cf. Gustaf Dalmann, Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina, Vol. VII (Gütersloh: Hermann Werner, 1940), plate n.40.
4 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, LXXIX. Cf. The Writings of Justin Martyr and Athenagoras, trans. by M. Dodds, G. Reith and B.P. Pratten (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1868), pp. 195–196.
5 Plummer, The Gospel According to S. Luke (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1922), p, 54
6 Justin Martyr, The First Apology of Justin 1:32; cf. Op. cit., p. 34.
7 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, LIII; cf. Op. cit. p. 155.
8 O. Cullmann, "Infancy Gospels: the Protevangelium of James," in New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. I, ed. by E. Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963), pp. 383–388.
9 Naboth and his famous vineyard (I Kings 21:1–14) is a classical example of the peasant attachment to the inheritance of his fathers. This same attachment is why Palestinian refugees in the current Middle East cannot simply move elsewhere.
10 K.E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant (Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans, 1976), 147.
11 William Thomson, The Land and the Book, Vol. II (New York: Harper and Brothers, c. 1858, 1871), p. 503.
12 E.F.F. Bishop, Jesus of Palestine (London: Lutterworth Press, 1955), p. 42. In spite of the passage here quoted, in his volume Bishop offers another alternative, that of a shed attached to a village guest house. This ignores the fact that mangers are in homes and the fact that the Holy Family has been in Bethlehem for some time. In a public lecture in Jerusalem in 1958 Bishop reaffirmed his earlier view that the birth was in a private home.
13 Gustaf Dalmann, Sacred Sites and Ways, trans. from the German by Paul P. Levertoff (London: SPCK, 1935), p. 41.
14 G. Dalmann. Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina, plates 1–91.
15 Everyone sleeps on mattresses on the raised terrace floor in the village home, so placing a baby there is perfectly natural.
16 G. Dalmann, Sacred Sites and Ways, p. 41.
17 Ibid.
18 Miller suggests that the birth "was probably unattended" because Mary wraps her own child. Cf. D.G. Miller, Saint Luke (London: SCM, 1959), p. 35. The assumption of Miller's remark is that the mother in her supposed weakened condition after childbirth would not choose to wrap her own child if she had had assistance. The difficulty with this assumption is that Palestinian peasant women are not physically incapacitated by childbirth. The present writer has heard first-hand accounts of Palestinian peasant women caught in the fields with labor pains who gave birth in the fields and then picked up the newborn child and returned to the village with no unusual effort required. The peasant woman is physically quite able to wrap her own child after a birth and it is only natural that Mary would choose to do so. After all, if she were alone, could not Joseph have wrapped the child for her? In short, when Mary wraps Jesus herself, this does not mean she is alone.
19 R.E. Brown, p. 400.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 E.F.F. Bishop, p. 42.
23 M. Miguens, "'In una mangatoia, perche non c'era posto...,'" Bibbia e Oriente, Vol. 2 (1960) p.193–198. This work, not available to me, is quoted by R. Brown, p. 400.
24 R.E. Brown, p. 400.
25 This is a possible partial solution to the energy crises in the Western world that perhaps should be given some consideration!
26 Dalmann, Arbeit und Sitte, plate n. 31. His plate n. 60 is a second example of the identical type of arrangement, only in this case the family room and the guest room are identical in size, indicating the importance of the guest in the village mind. Certainly every village home did not have a guest room. The home where the Holy Family stayed did, but it was full.
27 J.H. Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans, c. 1930, 1963), p. 329.
28 Alfred Plummer, p. 54.
29. A.R.C. Leaney, A Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke in Black's New Testament Commentaries (Second Edition; London: Adam and Charles Black, 1966), p. 93.
30. Frederick W. Danker, Jesus and the New Age (St. Louis: Clayton Publishing House, 1972), p.25. I.H. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Exeter: Paternoster. 1978), p. 107.
31. R.E. Brown, p.400.
32. Dîyunîsiyûs Ya'qûb ibn al-Salîbî. Kitâb al Durr al-Farîd fî Tafsîr al-'Ahd al-Jadîd (Cairo: n.p., 1914), Vol. II. p. 44.
Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey is an author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies. He holds graduate degrees in Arabic language and literature, and in systematic theology; his Th.D. is in New Testament. He spent forty years living and teaching the New Testament in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus. His area of specialty is the cultural background and literary forms of the New Testament.
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Dear Dr. Bailey,
Of further interest is a (now) underground cave in NAzareth. It is located under Les Religieuses de Nazareth on Casanova Street. It certainly was an above ground part of Jesus' boyhood town, because below it, down the 'hillside', is a rolling-stone tomb.
The cave has a veneration-bench built off of it (maybe from the Byzantine Era), and is a step-down type of cave which could have had a stone or wood structure built off the front.
Wouldn't it be something if the boy Jesus grew-up in the same type of place He was born in!
Blessings, Joe Gambino.
Joe Gambino - 11/19/2008 11:33:36 AM
Thank you, Dr. Baily, for this helpful article. Your argument regarding the meaning of τῷ καταλύματι is compelling. However, οὐκ ἦν αὐτοῖς τόπος means most literally "there was no place," not "there was no room." And τόπος can most certainly be used in a metaphorical sense. "The guest room is no place to birth a baby."
Perhaps this is just a Western cultural prejudice, but the phriase οὐκ ἦν ... τόπος certainly feels to me and other western readers like rejection or at least marginalization. Would it not have felt that way to an early Palestinian reader?
Finally, I have a hermeneutical question. Since Luke's intended readers were not Palestinian but the Gospel is addressed to Theophilus, whomever he or they may have been, is not the more important question what the text would have meant to a Greek patron rather than a Palestinian peasant?
Whatever the historical and cultural background of the actual event may have been, what did the Spirit, though Luke, hope to convey in the text as written? (Where is the authority? In the inspired text or the events the text portrays? That's an honest, not rhetorical question.)
Rod Pinder - 12/21/2009 2:00:10 PM
Whether in a peasant's home, on a terrace, in a manger or in a cave, His purpose remains the same!
Bill Penick - 10/18/2010 11:47:41 PM
As you noted, William Thomson,long- term Presbyterian missionary in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, wrote in 1857 that the birth of Jesus took place in an ordinary house and that the baby was laid in one of the mangers, such as are still found in the dwellings of farmers in this region.11Two leading 20th century authorities on Palestinian life and the New Testament Gustaf Dalmann and E.F.F. Bishop supported this contention. Bishop comments on Luke 2:7 and writes:"Perhaps...recourse was had to one of the Bethlehem houses with the lower section provided for the animals, with mangers "hollowed in stone," the dais being reserved for the family. Such a manger being immovable, filled with crushed straw, would do duty for a cradle. An infant might even be left in safety, especially if swaddled, when the mother was absent on temporary business.12"Dalmann, in his study of the same verse, records:"In the East today the dwelling place of man and beast is often in one and the same room. It is quite the usual thing among the peasants for the family to live, eat, and sleep on a kind of raised terrace (Arab. mastaba) in the one room of the house, while the cattle, particularly the donkeys and oxen, have their place below on the actual floor (ka' al-bet) near the door."Support for these opinions comes from an unexpected source - The Readings of famed physic Edgar Cayce. In answer to this, in the 1930s he stated that the manager of the Inn was a family friend who was aware of the significance of Mary's forth-coming baby. He did not believe that a bar full of travelers and drunken Romans was a suitable place for the birth of the Messiah. Cayce said that he deliberately sent them outside so that he could meet them and take them to a more suitable place. I think that it was probably to his home. The Inn-keeper was active with the Essenes, as were Mary and Joseph. Most homes at the time had "managers" so that animals, especially young ones, could be kept inside on cold nights and fed. A baby Jesus would have been warm , comfortable, and safe there.
Louis B. Fournier - 1/5/2011 4:25:46 AM
Tried reading your article, which is very interesting, but I'm having trouble getting through the first couple of paragraphs due to the continued use of the terms "Palestine" & "Palestinian" Palestine was a derogatory name given to the area by the Romans as an insult to the Jews. I would expect a "lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies" to know that.
Mel - 12/6/2011 10:34:23 AM
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is a very nice book
Werner Ladders - 3/8/2012 1:57:21 PM
I have read your article with interest, but it seems to me that your views are just as much based on "assumptions" as those views with which you disagree. For example, there is nothing in Luke 13:15 to suggest that Jesus had to be referring to animals kept within a home and not in a stable. Indeed, the place from which animals were taken out "for water" was a "manger" (phatne-the same word used in Luke's nativity account), which could be found in both private homes as well as in separate stables, or anywhere that animals were kept penned up and fed.It seems to me that the text is so ambiguous that an appeal to ancient tradition must be taken into consideration, and certainly should not be ignored. My interest in archaeology has given me a keen appreciation for how well loved and faithfully preserved the memories were of particular locations associated with the Lord's life, and here is little if any reason to dispute them, or the traditions that were born of them. But perhaps it is the Lord's intention that our knowledge only reach so far in order to give faith room to flourish. The wise man Blaise Pascal once said, "In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe, and enough shadows to blind those who don't." Some things we may never know for sure ... at least not in this life.
Deborah - 6/14/2013 3:52:06 PM
I have actually seen plenty to prove ABR's position on this. They base it on much more than assumptions. For one thing, the word kataluma does refer to the upper-room in a home. If Luke had meant to say "inn" he would have said "pandocheion." And there is absolutely no evidence for an "inn" in Bethlehem from that time period and Bethlehem was a poor town so you can't expect people to be able to afford to build a stable. Homes in Israel typically were built around caves and they would often carve out a manger from the stone wall. There is absolutely no evidence of any wooden mangers in 1st century Israel. The wooden manger under a gabled wooden roofed stable with a wooden manger and three wise men comes from the days of Francis of Issisi who was the man who started the practice of building manger scenes. In Francis' day homes and mangers looked like that, but homes in 1st century Israel did not. Btw under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem there are the remains of a home that matches the description suggested by ABR.
Danny - 12/25/2013 5:00:47 PM
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I have long wanted to write an erotic story about myself and finally decided. This story does not contain a drop of fiction, and everything that happens in it really did take place in my life. Because of this, it was not easy to write it to me, it's like showing up on a square full of people. But let's start, finally.A little about myself: I'm Gay , , exhibitionist and I love sadomasochism :) Now I'm 20, but I realized it much earlier . In general, this in many ways determined my life, as well as the subject of the story.I do not remember exactly when exactly the first perverted thoughts began to come to me, probably in 13-14 years. At first it was a fantasy about the connected guys, under which I masturbated. But it did not stop there . I decided to try to be connected myself. Since I lived with my parents, there was not much opportunity for this either to wait for everyone to leave somewhere, or to do it in my room at night or early in the morning.The first time I tied myself to the bed frame . It was early in the morning when everyone was still sleeping. I stripped naked, pushed aside the blanket . In itself, the feeling of nudity made me very excited, and my cock stood up. At first I decided to just figure out how it would be: he spread his legs so that the ankles lay on the side crossbeams, he lifted his hands over his head and also put it on the upper crossbar. I imagined myself from the side: I lay completely naked, with the apart (I, of course, imagined that I was already tied) with my hands and feet, the member is standing, I can not hide behind, I'm wriggling .But it was time to continue . I had ropes in the room, so I broke away from my fantasies and took them . For a start, I made self-pulling loops (I do not know how I knew how they were made) for the arms, tied Them to from different strings of the upper crossbar. Then he tied his legs with two more ropes, pulled hard - hard. I lay down on my back, raised my hands, stuck it into the loops . I was very excited, I was literally shaking. Finally, I drew my hands and they were tied over my head. It was something! I had never experienced such an arousal before. However, in practice it turned out that it is very easy to get out of this position: after tightening the hinges, the hands were tied with a rather long piece of rope, and I could easily reach out with one hand and untie it. It upset me a bit: I wanted everything to be real, so then I thought for a long time how to become more realistic.But now I just lay down, enjoying "helplessness" and my young body (yes, I'm very excited by my own body), tied to the bed .). Then I untied my hands, started masturbating without even untangling my legs - I was so anxious to discharge . In less than a minute, hot drops of sperm shot me on the chest and stomach .Later, when I only had to remember about this case, my dick immediately became firm.
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I'm interested in the issue of "explanatory" mathematical proofs and would like to try to find out what intuitions mathematicians have about induction, because there seems to be some disagreement as to whether such proofs can ever be explanatory.
Does anyone have any proofs by induction that they think are particularly explanatory, and does anyone have any proofs by induction which they think fail to be explanatory at all? I'd be really grateful if you could post any examples, and also if you could say why you find it/don't find it explanatory.
Thanks for your help.
I've just been reading through the comments and answers to my question and find them all very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to answer this question and post some interesting examples. Of course, more answers are still welcome!


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sunnyside necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
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Whitney Houston's Funeral Features Performances by Alicia Keys, R. Kelly + More
Whitney Houston's three-hour funeral was aired on CNN and streamed online today (Feb. 18). While pop divas like Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige were in attendance and the likes of Alicia Keys, R. Kelly and Stevie Wonder performed, it was still a traditional Baptist worship service at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., where Houston was born.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the priest said, "We gonna have church today," and that's just what they had while celebrating the singer's life and her immovable faith.
The services began with soulful choirs raising the roof so high that Whitney herself probably heard them up in heaven.
Actor/director/producer Tyler Perry recalled Houston's candor, praising how she had immovable faith even in times of heaviness. Her 'The Bodyguard' co-star Kevin Costner, who actually suggested that she sing 'I Will Always Love You' and to do the first few bars a capella, asked everyone to remember the "sweet miracle of Whitney" and with his voice cracking, he said, "People didn't just like you. They loved you."
Alicia Keys took a seat at the piano at 1:35, saying Whit called her "Keys on the keys" and shared that their nickname for one another was "Mema" before belting out 'Prelude to a Kiss.'
Houston's mentor Clive Davis was composed but compassionate, saying, "You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime, a face, a smile, a presence like that for a lifetime. When one person embodies it all, it takes your breath away. That's how I felt in 1993," when Whitney shattered him with her version of 'The Greatest Love of All.' He also referred to her as "an eternally loyal friend."
Stevie Wonder performed "Ribbon in the Sky' while R. Kelly crooned 'I Look to You.'
Overall, the ceremony was very worship and faith driven. When her casket was rolled out, 'I Will Always Love You' played. R.I.P, Whitney Houston. You and your beautiful voice will be missed.


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Earthquake Weather
Ballantine, May 2004, 24.95, 304 pp. ISBN: 0345467779 In recent years Los Angeles has been the epicenter of disasters with an earthquake to add to the list but thirty-five years old Mark Hayes would live no where else. Mark would like to have had some success with his career at Warner Brothers, but though a creative executive, he has no film credit to his name. Instead he critiques cerebral dumbing scripts. Much of Hollywood detests Mark's b...


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Michal Plutnar of the Czech Republic just ran over a linesman in a World Junior Championships game against Canada. I'm not sure how many times the broadcasters asked, in various ways, "what was he thinking," but it was a lot.
Plutnar, unhappy that Team Canada was shooting at the net with his goalie unprepared for a hunk of rubber heading his way as time expired in the second period, decided to teach a lesson. Unfortunately for him, a linesman got in the way.
Miraculously, Plutnar was only given two minutes for roughing.


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What is the best heating pad for neck, chest, and shoulders?
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I'm looking for a cordless heating solution for everyday back/shoulder/neck pain, as well as costochondritis (chest pain).
I'd like something that is easily heated and won't smell horrible (and will last over multiple uses). If it can also act as a cooling pad, that's an added bonus.
I've looked into several options, such as the SnapHeat packs, which look cool, see here on Amazon, but to reset you have to put them in boiling water (sound inconvenient but maybe it's not that bad?). I've also looked at the Bed Buddy body wrap, here on Amazon, but reviewers have had problems with the seams breaking/melting and a horrible smell.
Has anyone used either of these and can give me some input?
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Personally, I put dried beans (preferably lentils) in a pillowcase and heat in the microwave for a minute or two. Cheap, easy, doesn't smell horrible, and retains heat for quite some time. Reusable, too. If you want a pretty one, there are some nice ones on etsy, including scented ones. http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?search_submit=&ref=auto&q=heat+pack&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US
For cold, frozen peas are recommended, though those are not reusable. ;)
I've bought many electric heating pads. The very best digital professional-quality pads I've found are made by a company called TheraTherm. Available in many sizes and shapes, including a pad for cervical (neck) injuries.
Good luck, and may you be free from all pain and suffering!
I have made my own heating pads for years, for family and friends. I use flax seed to fill a flannel bag, adding other ingredients depending on personal preference. Some favorites include dried chamomile flowers, dried mint or lavender. A simple flannel bag sewn from a rectangle of cloth can be easily made by even a poor hand at sewing (such as myself) with a decent sewing machine, and custom shapes such as a yoke for neck/shoulder use are not that difficult either. Just remember to leave enough room in the bag for the flax to move around and conform to the shape of your body. These pads merely require a couple of minutes in the microwave to heat up, and can be reused almost indefinitely with reasonable care. The first one I made for my wife ten years ago is still going strong; one seam started to leak a couple of years ago, but I just made a new cover for it.
One word of caution: microwaves vary in power, and if you heat the bag up too much, you run the risk of burning some of the filler. This will cause an unpleasant odor, although only an extreme case will affect the use of the pad. These can also be put into the freezer overnight for use as a cold pack, but this is obviously not as convenient as microwaving.
I have experimented with other materials for the bag, such as denim and canvas, but flannel seems to be plenty durable and feels the best against the skin.
A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.Tell us what you love.
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Dokmee Capture is the all-new scanning software that will help you do everything you need to extract data from your documents. Improve your business process by capturing images and data and transforming them into organized, searchable information. Dokmee Capture is the best solution for your paperless conversion.
With all of the same features as a document management software, Dokmee Cloud is a securely hosted solution allowing you to work from anywhere that has a WiFi connection. With a free mobile app for iOS, Android, and Windows, ensure that you always have access to your files on the go. Documents are protected and easily accessible, and no servers or IT staff are needed. Let us do all the work for you.
Counting mountains of TIFF, PDF, and JPEG files one by one can be a major hassle. With Dokmee Page Counter, quickly and efficiently process large groups of documents at one time to analyze page count, page size, and compression type. Easily create reports in Excel format in both metric and imperial measurement systems.
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