HEBREW WORD STUDY – TOWER OF THE FLOCK – MIGDAL-EDER  מגדל עדר

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Luke 2:7-8: “ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (8)  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Micah 4: 8. And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. 

Tradition teaches that there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary and they had to settle for a stable, a cave, or a house where they put the Baby Jesus in a feeding trough.  This was to show His humble birth.

Well, I have been doing some reading in the Talmud, particularly in the Baba Kamma 80a and 7a,b.   Here we learn that the fields of Eder which are just a few feet bordering Bethlehem are where the sacrificial lambs were raised and cared for.  The shepherds of these lambs were the elite shepherds all from the priestly tribe of Levi whose job was to care for these lambs so they would remain without blemish or spot.  They watched these sheep 24 hours a day as will be explained in another study. From the birth of a lamb, they were spoiled rotten, wrapped in fine linen to remain without blemish and spot, and feed a special diet.

So what does this have to do with the Inn which had no room available?  The Aramaic text does not even mention an Inn it just simply says lith doka  – there was no place for them.  Inns in those days were not what we think.  They were little way places that were built in a circle or square and had two stories.  The bottom was for the camels, donkeys, or other livestock which had feeder troughs.  The second floor was where the travelers slept. In the center was a well and there were a number of campfires around that people shared.  It was very communal, and dangerous. There were no innkeepers to keep order.  You might wake up and find your camels or donkeys gone, stolen.  However, you stood a better chance of waking up in the morning with your livestock and supplies (as well as your life) if you stayed in of these inns than if you did what tradition teaches Mary and Joseph supposedly did and that was to sleep in a stable or cave which served as a feeding area for livestock.

Which, by the way, mangers and feeding locations were not very common in this area as the sheep or cattle usually just grazed and found water at various watering holes. A manger would be found in a place like Eder where the sheep were pampered and given a very strict diet as they were the sacrificial lambs.  In fact, about the only place where you would find a trough is in The Migdal Eder, which is the Tower of Flocks.  This is where the lambs who were to be used for the Temple Sacrifice would be taken for inspection and preparation to be transported to the temple.

Now there were shepherds abiding in the same country.  In Aramaic, that word is ‘athra which means region, place, or location.  It could be miles or just a few feet away.

Many Bible scholars believe Micah 4:8 is predicting where the birth of the Messiah and where He would be born.  The Talmud predicts that the Messiah would be born in a castle. That really depends on how you translate the Aramaic word for castle, it could be a migdel, tower, or a place of height or high honor.   Dubious as it may seem, it was a place of high honor for the lambs, for only the best, purest, and cleanest lambs without blemish or spot were carefully examined and chosen in the Migdel Eder or the Tower of the Flock.

I would say that this was a fitting place for the Messiah to be born and a good reason why he was not born in a so-called inn.  He should be born in the place where the sacrificial lambs are born, raised, and eventually chosen as the sacrifice.

After all where in a way out of the way cave or stable would Mary and Joseph find the cloth to make swaddling clothes and a manger that was free of lice and fleas?   Guess what the sacrificial lambs were wrapped in and where you would find a manger free of bugs?

My guess is that Jesus was not born in a stable, cave, or house but in the Tower of Migdel.

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