This post is the fourth in a series of twelve December recommendations drawn from biblical studies and twentieth-century fiction. Each day’s pick is something I enjoy that relates to Christmas and that I think others will find helpful or interesting.

The Second Read of Christmas

“The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7”

This recommendation is for a journal article by Stephen C. Carlson that examines the meaning of the Greek word κατάλυμα, which is often translated as “inn” in English versions of Luke 2:7.

Carlson carefully identifies several exegetical missteps commonly used to justify translating κατάλυμα as inn, along with the difficulties that arise when translators choose an English equivalent that is overly specific. His article invites readers to reconsider assumptions about the setting of Jesus’s birth and to read Luke’s account with greater lexical and cultural sensitivity.

Below is the abstract of the article, followed by a link to the full text.

The identity of the κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7 has been debated among Western scholars for over five hundred years. Proposals have ranged from an inn to a guest room. This article argues that the term κατάλυμα has a generic sense of ‘place to stay’ and that the final clause of Luke 2.7 should be rendered ‘because they had no space in their place to stay’. Moreover, three clues in the context—Joseph’s compliance with the census order, the betrothal of Mary, and the manger—suggest that the accommodations presupposed by Luke are a marital chamber too small for giving birth.

Read “The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7” on Academia