Manger - Word Foundations

In the King James Version of the Holy Scriptures, Luke’s report of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:7 reads this way: “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.” Two additional verses that use the term manger the KJV also are found in Luke 2.

The angel of the Lord told the shepherds, “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (v. 12).
Once the shepherds had heard an angel of the Lord bring news of Jesus’ birth and heard praises to God from multitude of other angels, “they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger” (v. 16).

The Greek word translated manger appears in just one other instance in the New Testament. In Luke 13:15 in the KJV it is translated stall: “The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath lose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering.” In the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the same Greek word is translated feeding trough in all of the above verses.

In ancient Palestine, it was not unusual for the interior of a home to consist of a large enclosed area with both upper quarters and lower quarters. The upper quarters, or the elevated section, housed the family; while the lower quarters served as the dwelling place for the family’s animals. Often a manger could be found in the lower section, and it typically was made of masonry or stone. Sometimes stone mangers were carved out of caves used to shelter animals, or stone or masonry mangers were placed in other places where animals were kept. It is possible that Jesus was born in a cave that served as a stable.

A Hebrew word carrying a meaning similar to that of the Greek term appears in Job 39:9; Proverbs 14:4; and Isaiah 1:3. In all three of these verses, feeding trough is the term used by the translators of the HCSB. Translators of the KJV used crib in all three instances.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.