[B-Greek] Luke on KATALUMA

Mitch Larramore mitchlarramore at yahoo.com
Wed Dec 3 13:05:27 EST 2003


Luke 2:7 (I don't have my Greek Bible with me)

And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped
him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn
(KATALUMA).

The NET Bible note is:

21tn The Greek word KATALUMA is flexible, and usage in
the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for
lodging (see BAGD 414 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and
Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in
the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC],
1:105), which would have been crude shelters for
people and animals. However, it has been suggested by
various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying
with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, Bible
Background Commentary, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of
Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would
refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which
would have been filled beyond capacity with all the
other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for
the census.

However...
In Luke 10:34, Luke describes the Good Samaritan as
bringing the man to the "inn," where he uses a
different word than KATALUMA. And in Mark 14, the word
KATALUMA is used of the "dining room" where the last
supper took place. So, why does the NET Bible note
seem to imply that KATALUMA in Luke 2 is an inn
(public accomodations) as opposed to the "guest room"
of a relative's house?


=====
Mitch Larramore
Spring Branch, Texas
Student/Memorial High School

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