A few problems with the introduction. Joseph was NOT from Bethlehem. He was a descendant of the House of David and therefore was required to register and pay according to Roman taxation methods at the tribal centre. There would not necessarily be a “family home”.
Diversorium was the closest that Saint Jerome got and we should remember tha…
A few problems with the introduction. Joseph was NOT from Bethlehem. He was a descendant of the House of David and therefore was required to register and pay according to Roman taxation methods at the tribal centre. There would not necessarily be a “family home”.
Diversorium was the closest that Saint Jerome got and we should remember that Saint Jerome was actually writing the Vulgate in Bethlehem itself, literally yards from the site of the Nativity itself. Had he wished to say “family home” he would not have used “Diversorium” but more likely “domus”, the generic catchall for “ house, home, family home” or even “palace” or, maybe, at a stretch “oppidum”. By using the commercial “diversorium”, he was clearly not suggesting there was a rejection by family but simply no room for a carpenter when the entire House of David was descending on the place. Sometimes, modern “Biblical scholars” need to rein in their imagination. 😉
However, the general principle remains sound. Merry Christmas.
--Saint Jerome was translating from the Greek, and the Greek is indisputable on this point. Luke uses the word "kataluma" (as he does for the upper room later) and not the word "pandocheion," which is the greek word for a hotel-type place, which Luke uses in the story of Good Samaritan.
--I think the text is also clear that Joseph's relatives were in Bethlehem.
-- It's also an entirely plausible read (and perhaps the most logical given the circumstances) to think that Joseph or his father were from Bethlehem, and went north like a lot of craftsmen for the Herodian building boom. It's speculative, but not unreasonable, I don't think.
A few problems with the introduction. Joseph was NOT from Bethlehem. He was a descendant of the House of David and therefore was required to register and pay according to Roman taxation methods at the tribal centre. There would not necessarily be a “family home”.
Diversorium was the closest that Saint Jerome got and we should remember that Saint Jerome was actually writing the Vulgate in Bethlehem itself, literally yards from the site of the Nativity itself. Had he wished to say “family home” he would not have used “Diversorium” but more likely “domus”, the generic catchall for “ house, home, family home” or even “palace” or, maybe, at a stretch “oppidum”. By using the commercial “diversorium”, he was clearly not suggesting there was a rejection by family but simply no room for a carpenter when the entire House of David was descending on the place. Sometimes, modern “Biblical scholars” need to rein in their imagination. 😉
However, the general principle remains sound. Merry Christmas.
And what of the tradition that Our Lord was born in a cave, a place where animals were kept?
Ancient Christian writers and early liturgical texts use the word, "cave" for the place of the birth of the Son of God.
The the grotto in the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem also attests to this.
does that not fit with a kind of domestic undercroft (where animals were kept)?
since a lot of judean houses were built into cliffs/bluffs, etc, these don't seem mutually exclusive to me!
Hey Mike! Merry Christmas. Couple thoughts:
--Saint Jerome was translating from the Greek, and the Greek is indisputable on this point. Luke uses the word "kataluma" (as he does for the upper room later) and not the word "pandocheion," which is the greek word for a hotel-type place, which Luke uses in the story of Good Samaritan.
--I think the text is also clear that Joseph's relatives were in Bethlehem.
-- It's also an entirely plausible read (and perhaps the most logical given the circumstances) to think that Joseph or his father were from Bethlehem, and went north like a lot of craftsmen for the Herodian building boom. It's speculative, but not unreasonable, I don't think.
Yeah, we need to agree on “speculative”. Cheers
Modern scholars modernize, which means they re-interpret. What happened in history doesn't change. Be sceptical of re-interpretations.