Koine Foundations

Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She swaddled* him and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging place for them. (Luke 2:7).

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Word Focus
manger
φάτνη / phatnē
<Hear It>

The Gospel of Luke records some of the details about the birth of Jesus. Click here to read the full account by Luke in the Blue Letter Bible. One detail that Luke mentions is that Jesus was placed in a manger (φάτνη) after he was born.

A manger is a feeding trough for animals. The image above shows an example of a manger excavated at the archaeological site of Megiddo located in northern Israel. The hole in the stone to the right of the manager was probably used to tether animals.

Early Christian tradition from the second century AD suggests that the manger was located in a cave. The Church of the Nativity in modern day Bethlehem contains a cave called the Nativity Grotto that some believe to be the cave in which Jesus was born. However, Luke does not say where the manger was located. Besides a cave, it could have been located in an outbuilding of a house or inn, in an outside courtyard attached to the structure, or even inside a house. It was common for working class people to keep their animals inside their houses at night.

Modern Nativity scenes usually show animals such as sheep, donkeys and cows gathered around the manger. However, the Gospel accounts of Jesus birth in Matthew and Luke do not mention animals – not even camels for the Wise Men. Because it is natural to associate animals with feeding troughs, various animals were added to the depictions of the Nativity over the years.

The detail that Luke does mention three times is the manger (φάτνη): Mary lays Jesus in a manger (Luke 2:7), an angel announces the birth of Jesus the Savior and Messiah to shepherds and says the manger is a sign (Luke 2:12), and the shepherds hurry off after the announcement and find Jesus in the manger (Luke 2:16). This detail, rather than the building or animals, is important to Luke.

Luke does not present the manger as a dismal or negative thing. Rather, it demonstrates Mary’s love and care for Jesus by providing for him even in a less than desirable situation. It highlights the ordinary and humble circumstances of Jesus birth. It reveals the humanity of Jesus in being able to identify with even the poorest of people. And it provides a place for the shepherds to worship Jesus. These first believers bowed to the newborn King in a manger and not seated on a throne. If Jesus had been born in a palace, the shepherds would not have been allowed to visit him. Jesus is accessible to everyone who seeks him and he understands everyone’s situation in life.

*Note: Swaddling was the practice of gently wrapping strips of cloth or tying a square of cloth around a baby to sooth it and help it sleep.

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Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: ἠ φάτνη φάτνης <Hear It>
Gloss: feeding trough, manger, stall
Part of Speech: First Declension Feminine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 4 (Luke 2:7, 2:12, 2:16, 13:15)
Strong’s Number: G5336 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.