Yes, I am.
Luke 2:12
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
βρέφος
brephos a baby
In the gospel of Matthew it tells later some Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem asking where the king of the Jews had been born? (Matthew 2)
2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
The reason Jesus was born in a cave was because there was no room at the time. There is no mention of a timeframe for Jesus to be moved to a house, but it seems reasonable that people would make room for a newborn. It does not seem reasonable that Joseph had a house in Bethlehem. If he did, there would have been room in his home for Jesus to be born.
They had to come from the east probably by camel. We are not given an exact date of arrival or their starting location, but it wasn't 5km down the road. Jews considered the area of northern Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia as the 'East.'
Example" Genesis 29:1, 4 Haran was the east. and other verses go further, so anywhere from 600 to over a 1000 km away. (400-700 miles) away.
A considerable journey.
There is also no mention of how long before the birth the star shone or when it stopped. I believe they came from Persia.
When they arrived Jesus was no longer a newborn in a stable but a child in a house.
Matthew 2:11
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
παιδίον
paidionChild
The reason Jesus was born in a cave was because there was no room in the inn at the time. There is no mention of a timeframe for Jesus to be moved to a house, but it seems reasonable that people would make room for a newborn. It does not seem reasonable that Joseph had a house in Bethlehem. If he did, there would have been room in his home for Jesus to be born.
Which is why Herod ordered all boys 2 and under to be killed. It wasn't a wild guess but an educated one from what the magi had told him. Jesus was somewhere between 1 and 2 years of age.
Matthew 2:16
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
I guess you're trying to say that the star event happened at the moment of Jesus' birth, and that the Magi made preparations and left at that time. It might have taken a month for them to travel to Bethlehem.
Finally, to put a period to this, the Catholic Church celebrates Jesus’ birth on December 25, but this is a matter of custom rather than doctrine. It is not Church teaching that this is when Jesus was born (note that the matter isn’t even mentioned in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church).
Second, although most Christians today celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25, this was not the only date proposed. Around A.D. 194, Clement of Alexandria stated Christ was born November 18. Other early proposals included January 10, April 19 or 20, and May 20 (Jack Finegan,
Handbook of Biblical Chronology, 2nd ed., §488, §553). By far the most common proposals, however, were January 6 (ibid., §§554–61) and December 25 (ibid
., §§562–68).
While the last was eventually adopted by the Catholic Church for use in its liturgy, the fact that the Church did not declare alternate proposals heretical shows the matter was not considered essential to the Faith.
Third, the proposals that put Jesus’ birth in the colder part of the year (November 18, December 25, January 6, and January 10) are not ruled out by the fact that there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Ancient Jews did not have large indoor spaces for housing sheep. Flocks were kept outdoors during winter in Judaea, as they are elsewhere in the world today, including in places where snow is common (search for “winter sheep care” on the Internet). Sheep are adapted to life outdoors. That’s why they have wool, which keeps body heat in and moisture out.
Sheep are kept outdoors in winter in Israel today: “William Hendricksen quotes a letter dated Jan. 16, 1967, received from the New Testament scholar Harry Mulder, then teaching in Beirut, in which the latter tells of being in Shepherd Field at Bethlehem on the just passed Christmas Eve, and says: “Right near us a few flocks of sheep were nestled. Even the lambs were not lacking. . . . It is therefore definitely not impossible that the Lord Jesus was born in December’” (ibid
., §569).
The Timing of Christmas
