Manger

Biblical Text

A manger is a trough that holds feed for livestock such as oxen and donkeys. In the New Testament, it appears three times in the account of the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.

• Luke 2:7: Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. The text gives the reason: "because there was no room for them in the inn."
• Luke 2:12: An angel tells the shepherds that a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger will be a sign to them. Here a sign means a token that confirms something.
• Luke 2:16: The shepherds go in haste and find Mary, Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

In the Old Testament, the word appears in Isaiah 1:3 ("the ass his master's crib") and Proverbs 14:4, among other passages. Although the Gospel of Matthew also contains a birth narrative, it does not mention the manger.

Background

The Greek word φάτνη (phatnē) refers to a feeding trough for livestock and can also denote the stall in which such a trough stands. For this reason, the Korean New Revised Version (개역개정) renders the same word in Luke 13:15 as "stall" (외양간). In ancient Palestine, mangers are known to have commonly been made of carved or stacked stone. Common people sometimes kept their animals in a section of the house itself or in a cave attached to the house.

The word κατάλυμα (katalyma), rendered "inn" in Luke 2:7, is the same word rendered "guestchamber" in Luke 22:11. Some scholars therefore understand it not as a commercial lodging place but as the guest room of a relative's house.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Luke presents the manger as the sign by which the Savior born in the city of David (Luke 2:11) would be recognized. Because of the contrast between the Savior and the lowliest of places, the manger has been read as a symbol of the humility and self-abasement of the Incarnation. It is often discussed together with Philippians 2:6–8, which says that Christ emptied himself and took upon him the form of a servant.

Some interpreters also connect the manger with Isaiah 1:3, reading it in light of the theme that even animals know their master's manger, yet God's people did not recognize the Lord when he came. In addition, since Bethlehem means "house of bread" in Hebrew and a manger is a place that holds food, some devotional interpretations link it with the "bread of life" (John 6:35). This, however, is not something the text states directly.

Distinguishing Tradition from the Text

• The cave: In the second century, Justin Martyr wrote that Jesus was born in a cave near Bethlehem. In the fourth century, a church was built over the site traditionally identified as that cave. The text of Luke does not describe the physical form of the place.
• The ox and the donkey: Luke does not mention any animals beside the manger. The ox and the donkey are a later addition to the tradition, based on passages such as Isaiah 1:3, and became widespread through apocryphal literature and sacred art.
• The stable and the innkeeper: Neither the term "stable" nor the story of an innkeeper turning Mary and Joseph away appears in the text. These elements became fixed through nativity plays and paintings.
• Nativity scenes: Francis of Assisi's reenactment of the Nativity at Greccio in 1223 is generally regarded as the origin of the nativity scene tradition. In the Catholic Church in Korea, the display set up in churches at Christmas is itself called a "manger" (구유). Among Protestants, the use of such displays varies by denomination and congregation.

In the Korean Church

In Christmas and Advent sermons, the manger frequently serves as a theme for speaking of Jesus' humility and service. "그 어린 주 예수," a Korean translation of the English carol "Away in a Manger," is sung as a Christmas hymn. Scenes of the infant Jesus lying in a manger are commonly staged in Sunday school Christmas programs and nativity plays, and some churches include a model manger among their Christmas decorations.