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Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 1:25
And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Galatians 4:4
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

and wrapped.

Luke 2:11,12
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord…

Psalm 22:6
But Iam a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

Isaiah 53:2,3
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,there is no beauty that we should desire him…

the inn.

Luke 10:34
And went tohim, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Genesis 42:27
And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, itwas in his sack's mouth.

Genesis 43:21
And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold,every man's moneywas in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.

She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths
Swaddling cloths were strips of cloth used to wrap newborns tightly, providing warmth and security. This practice was common in ancient Near Eastern cultures and symbolized care and protection. The mention of swaddling cloths emphasizes Jesus' humanity and vulnerability as a newborn. It also reflects the humble circumstances of His birth, contrasting with His divine nature.

and laid Him in a manger,
A manger is a feeding trough for animals, indicating that Jesus was born in a setting associated with livestock, likely a stable or cave. This humble beginning fulfills the prophecy of the Messiah's lowly origins (Micah 5:2). The manger symbolizes Jesus' accessibility to all people, including the lowly and marginalized, and foreshadows His role as the Bread of Life (John 6:35), providing spiritual nourishment.

because there was no room for them in the inn.
The lack of room in the inn underscores the theme of rejection and humility in Jesus' life. Inns in ancient times were often simple guest rooms or caravansaries, and the overcrowding due to the census (Luke 2:1-3) left Mary and Joseph without proper lodging. This situation reflects the world's unpreparedness to receive the Savior and prefigures the rejection Jesus would face throughout His ministry (John 1:11). The phrase also invites reflection on the spiritual readiness of individuals to make room for Christ in their lives.

Wrapped him in swaddling clothes.--After the manner of the East, then, as now, these were fastened tightly round the whole body of the child, confining both legs and arms.

Laid him in a manger.--A tradition found in the ApocryphalGospel of the Infancy fixes a cave near Bethlehem as the scene of the Nativity, and Justin Martyr finds in this a fulfilment of the LXX. version ofIsaiah 33:16, "His place of defence shall be in a lofty cave." Caves in the limestone rocks of Judaea were so often used as stables, that there is nothing improbable in the tradition. The present Church of the Nativity has beneath it a natural crypt or cavern, in which St. Jerome is said to have passed many years, compiling his Latin translation (that known as the Vulgate) of the Sacred Scriptures. The traditional ox and ass, which appear in well-nigh every stage of Christian art in pictures of the Nativity, are probably traceable to a fanciful interpretation ofIsaiah 1:3, which is, indeed, cited in the Apocryphal Gospel ascribed to St. Matthew, as being thus fulfilled.

There was no room for them in the inn.--The statement implies that the town was crowded with persons who had come up to be registered there--some, perhaps, exulting, like Joseph, in their descent from David. The inn of Bethlehem--what in modern Eastern travel is known as a khan orcaravanserai, as distinct from a hostelry (the "inn" ofLuke 10:34)--offered the shelter of its walls and roofs, and that only. It had a memorable history of its own, being named inJeremiah 41:17, as the "inn of Chimham," the place of rendezvous from which travellers started on their journey to Egypt. It was so called after the son of Barzillai, whom David seems to have treated as an adopted son (2Samuel 19:37-38), and was probably built by him in his patron's city as a testimony of his gratitude. . . .

(1) either his half-brethren, sons of Joseph by a former marriage; or

(2) his cousins. In the passage in Hebrews (Hebrews 1:6), "when he bringeth in theFirst Begotten into the world," "First Begotten" signifies "Only Begotten." (On the whole question, see Bishop Lightfoot's exhaustive essay on the "Brethren of the Lord" in his 'Commentary on the Galatians.')There was no room for them in the inn. "The inn of Bethlehem, what in modern Eastern travel is known as akhan orcaravanserai, as distinct from a hostelry (the 'inn' ofLuke 10:34). Such an inn or khan offered to the traveler simply the shelter of its walls and roofs. This khan of Bethlehem had a memorable history of its own, being named inJeremiah 41:17 as the 'inn of Chimham,' the place of rendezvous from which travelers started on their journey to Egypt. It was so called after the son of Barzillai, whom David seems to have treated as an adopted son (2 Samuel 19:37, 38), and was probably built by him in his patron's city as a testimony of his gratitude" (Dean Plumptre). The stable was not unfrequently a limestone cave, and there is a very ancient tradition that there was a cave of this description attached to the "inn," or caravanserai, of Bethlehem. This "inn" would, no doubt, be a large one, owing to its being in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and would often be crowded with the poorer class of pilgrims who went up to the temple at the seasons of the greater feasts. Bethlehem is only six miles from Jerusalem.

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