Luke 2:7 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.
The word “manger” comes from the Old French mangier (meaning “to eat”), from Latin mandere (meaning “to chew”). A manger or crib is a wooden or stone feeding trough or food box that holds hay for larger farm animals like cattle, horses, and donkeys. Mangers are generally found in stables and farmhouses. The manger is not a room or place.
When Joseph and Mary arrived at the Inn, all the travelers had overcrowded the guest rooms. Inns at the time were not like today. There was not a room for everyone that checked in. There was one, possibly two large rooms where all slept together. Perhaps the Inn keeper seeing Mary’s condition offered a place where the animals lived so she could have privacy while she delivered her child. Then she placed her child in a manger (filled with Hay) for comfort.
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