The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-01-01
WHERE CHRIST WAS born
4 cIRcUMsTANTIAL ACCOUNT
DRAWN FROM THE SCRIPTURES
BY REV. ERNEST r. HULL, S. j..

BY REV. ERNEST r. HULL, S. j.
The Scripture account of the nativ-
ity of Christ is contained in two short
verses of the Gospel of st. Luke:
"And it came to pass that when they
were there Cat Bethleheml, her days
were accomplished that she should be
delivered. And she brought forth
her first born Son and wrapped Him
in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in
the Manager; because there was no
room for Him in the inn'
The date of that event is not men
toned. We know from another verse
that the Holy Family were in Bethle-
hem in answer to an order of Au-
gustus Caesar requiring the enroll
ment of each family in their own
town; but the time of this enrolment
is unknown. Most probably it took
place about five years before the date
A. d. 1 of our customary reckoning;
but it can not be fixed within year
or two.
Then again, the season of the year
| is unrecorded. We have, however,
good grounds for believing that De
cember 25 represents the primitive
tradition. The. text does not inform
us whether the birth took place in
the city or in its y5ubErbs. Tradition,
however, comes to our help. Justin
Martyr, who was Gative of Pales-
tine, born probably about the year a..
D. 100, and who wrote about the year
A. D. $50, tells us that AS ST. Joseph
had not in that town-sen spelaio tin
suneggus ties koems. This cave is
still shown in Bethlehem. It's situa-
ton corresponds to Justin's descrip-
ton; and the antiquity of the tradi-
ton gives us excellent grounds for
accepting it as genuine. But the ques-
ton arises, what was this cave, and
how did the Holy Family come to
take up their abode in it?
The English text seems clear
enough. ''They laid the Child in a
manger because there was no room
for them in the inn But when we
examine the Greek words, the impress
sion is not so definite. The Greek
is strictly as follows: "They placed
Him reclining in the manger Zen tie
phatne) because there was no place
(topos) for them in the stopping
place (katalumai)." The word phatne
means an eating trough for horses or
oxen It might have been carried out
of the stables for use as cradle; but
the ordinary notion is most probably
correct, viz, that the Holy Family
were in cave used for the purpose.
1t was a common thing for natural
caves to be used as outhouses or
sheds; and taking the tradition with
the text, this seems the best eXplana-
ton
The Holy Family were in a cave
used for cattle, because there was
no place (topos) for them. The word
topos suggests suitability rather than
room. Hence it might be that they
deliberately chose the stable as af-
fording greater privacy. The word,
however, does not exclude the alterna-
tive, viz, that there was no room at
all to be had in the katalumai.
The only arrangement for the gen.
eral or public accommodation of tray-
elers was what we now call caravan
serai or khan. 1t consisted of a square
space surrounded with wall; and in
side the walls we're rows of rough
built rooms. Each traveller brought
his own bedding, cooking utensils,
means of making fire, and supplies
of food.
Khans were b convenience for UNI
inhabited districts rather than the
normal way of providing for travel
ers. Where the country was well peo-
pied, private hospitality prevailed.
"The sense of the sacredness of hos
pitality (writes Giekie1, which was
deeply felt by the Jews, made inns
or even khans where the travellers
provide for themselyes), unnecessary
in any peopled place. Private houses
were everywhere opened to the trav-
eler. The ancient Jew, like the mod
ern Arab, held it a reflection on the
community if a passing wayfarer was
not made someone's guest
The Greek word katalumai, there
fore, which means any place Of un-
yoking or of putting up for the night,
might possibly mean the khan at the
entrance Of the city, but also any pri-
vate residence or place of rest in the
town, or even any place of pitching
tents for the night. The town was at
THAT time crowded with an unusual
number of visitors and In consequence
the demand for hospitality was be-
You'd the accommodation. This point