What Did Jesus Manger Look Like
The first Christmas involved baby Jesus placed in a manger on the ground floor of David's ancestral home in Bethlehem because the upstairs "guest room" was full. Away In A Manger by David Padfield Can you identify the object in the above photograph? It is a manger, like the one our Savior was placed in as a baby. Luke tells us that Mary "brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7).
The Popular Assumption: In a Barn If you look at any manger scene or contemporary nativity sets, this is the popular image presented. Understandably, the reasoning goes like this: Jesus was placed in a manger, which was a feeding trough for livestock, so he must've been born in the barn with the animals. What actually did a stable look like in the time of Christ? From archaeology we know that stables looked like rooms with a fenestrated wall, i.e.
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The Birth of Jesus: Bible 100 Style - Beth Demme
an interior or exterior wall with several low windows. Animals were placed behind this wall and fodder was put in wooden boxes or baskets and placed in the windows. As recorded in Scripture, the first time the word manger is referenced to Christ is in Luke 2:7, which reads, "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.".
The scene has been depicted persistently over the generations, from Great Masters to coloring books. But what did the manger really look look like? The magnificent Church of the Nativity, built and rebuilt over the generations, gives us no hint; an elaborate altar stands at the traditional site of the birth today. That being the case, the manger was most likely a cistern or basin like affair hewn into the same rock, probably a monolithic structure.
Jesus Birth Manger
crude, but good shelter and a lasting one. The photograph shows a first century stone manger located at the Convent of the Sisters of Zion in Jerusalem. It's probably much like the original manger.
The baby Jesus was laid, not in a nice wooden cradle built by His carpenter father, but on stone. No wonder Mary wanted to wrap her son in strips of cloth. Subscribe to biblical objects and places brought to life!In the Bible, Mary laid Jesus in a manger because there was no room at the inn (Luke 2:7).
Why Was Jesus Christ Born In A Manger? - Christianity FAQ
The manger represents Christ's humility in being born in a lowly place among animals, rather than in a palace, symbolizing how he came to identify with the poor and marginalized. The manger fulfills Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, connecting Jesus to the Davidic line and God's promises to his people. The manger points to the mystery of the Incarnation.
/NativityDefinition-864510670-5bb8cb6146e0fb00511a3f3c.jpg "Nativity of Jesus: A Biblical Definition")
