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JD Flynn's avatar

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.

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Mike Tittensor's avatar

Yeah, we need to agree on “speculative”. Cheers

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