So I’ve already prompted you to think of an alternative to the stable. Now for the inn. This is a bit more complex because even the most recent, established translations use the word inn in Luke 2:7. However, the NIV got it right: “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Yes, the word translated inn really means a guest room. There was another word for a commercial inn, which Luke used in the story of the Good Samaritan (10:34). The guest room is the same word as the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper (22:12). For more detail on this, I again refer you to Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey (IVP Academic, 2008). My point is not to get you to read Kenneth Bailey, but to read Matthew, and Luke especially today, with fresh eyes.
I suggest reading today in the New International Version so you don’t see the word inn. If you read exactly what Luke wrote, what do you imagine about where Mary and Joseph were staying in Bethlehem when Jesus was born?
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