The Manger

The word “manger” is only found three times in the Bible. (Luke 2:7, Luke 2:12, Luke 2:16) This term often speaks of the place where the infant Jesus was laid. It refers to a trough hollowed out to receive food intended for horses or feeding cattle. Stables and mangers in our modern sense were in ancient times unknown in the East. Usage of the word “manger” properly denotes the ledge or projection at the room’s end. It was used as a stall to place the hay or other food of the animals belonging to travelers.

Inns had apartments or cells above for travelers and stalls for the cattle below. The upper platform, reached by steps, was probably occupied by the inn and its occupants. The lower level, from which the steps arose, was usually appropriated to cattle and goats. Perhaps, on the first Christmas, it was used by Joseph and Mary on account of the inn’s crowded state.