![]() ![]() Both Jerusalem and Bethlehem are located on this ridge. Only a small amount of rain falls on the eastern slopes of the central mountain range. The temperature around Jerusalem and Bethlehem is fairly temperate in the winter. Today, we find many Bedouin shepherds watching their sheep on the eastern slopes year round, including the winter months. In winter months they would move to warmer, desert areas. In the summer we would see them in the mountains of Lebanon. In fact, when I first began traveling to Israel and Jordan in the mid-60s it was common for Bedouin shepherds to move with the seasons. “Scholars have pointed out that the considerably lower altitude of the field may not be without significance, but may explain why even in winter shepherds would not find these fields too cold for their flocks.” (From the Nile to the Waters of Damascus, p. William Arndt, (of Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich fame) replying to this suggestion: In my outline study about Christmas, available here, I have a quotation by the late Dr. ![]() They say that shepherds did not watch flocks by night during December. Some writers have suggested that the birth was not likely in December. Luke tells us that shepherds were out in the field at the time.Īnd in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. I am not aware of any suggestion in the Bible regarding the time of the year when Jesus was born. One of my readers left a comment on facebook saying the Bible indicates that Jesus was “born in winter.” She added, “That could be anytime between mid-October and mid-March.” Another reader said, ” I didn’t know the Bible said he was born in winter - I know shepherds were grazing their sheep when he was born…does this happen in winter in that part of the world?” ![]()
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