Luke 2:7

2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth ¹  and laid him in a manger, ²  because there was no place for them in the inn. ³ 

Luke 12:37

12:37 Blessed are those slaves ⁴  whom their master finds alert ⁵  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ⁶  he will dress himself to serve, ⁷  have them take their place at the table, ⁸  and will come ⁹  and wait on them! ¹⁰ 

[2:7]  ¹ sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.

[2:7]  ² tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:7]  ³ tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 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, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 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.

[12:37]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:37]  ⁵ tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

[12:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:37]  ⁷ tn See v. 35 (same verb).

[12:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[12:37]  ⁹ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:37]  ¹⁰ sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.