SEV Biblia, Chapter 2:8
¶ Y había pastores en la misma tierra, que velaban y guardaban las vigilias de la noche sobre su rebao.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Luke 2:8
Verse 8. There were-shepherds abiding in the field] There is no intimation here that these shepherds were exposed to the open air. They dwelt in the fields where they had their sheep penned up; but they undoubtedly had tents or booths under which they dwelt. Keeping watch-by night.] Or, as in the margin, keeping the watches of the night, i.e. each one keeping a watch (which ordinarily consisted of three hours) in his turn. The reason why they watched them in the field appears to have been, either to preserve the sheep from beasts of prey, such as wolves, foxes, &c., or from freebooting banditti, with which all the land of Judea was at that time much infested. It was a custom among the Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts, about the passover, and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain: during the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As the passover occurred in the spring, and the first rain began early in the month of Marchesvan, which answers to part of our October and November, we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole of the summer.
And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could he have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point. See the quotations from the Talmudists in Lightfoot.
The time in which Christ was born has been considered a subject of great importance among Christians. However, the matter has been considered of no moment by Him who inspired the evangelists; as not one hint is dropped on the subject, by which it might be possible even to guess nearly to the time, except the chronological fact mentioned above. A late writer makes tho following remark: "The first Christians placed the baptism of Christ about the beginning of the fifteenth year of Tiberius; and thence reckoning back thirty years, they placed his birth in the forty-third year of the Julian period, the forty-second of Augustus, and the twenty- eighth after the victory at Actium. This opinion obtained till A. D. 527, when Dionysius Exiguus invented the vulgar account. Learned and pious men have trifled egregiously on this subject, making that of importance which the Holy Spirit, by his silence, has plainly informed them is of none.
Fabricius gives a catalogue of no less than 136 different opinions concerning the YEAR of Christ's birth: and as to his birth DAY, that has been placed by Christian sects and learned men in every month in the year.
The Egyptians placed it in January-Wagenseil, in February- Bochart, in March-some, mentioned by Clemens Alexandrinus, in April-others, in May-Epiphanius speaks of some who placed it in June-and of others who supposed it to have been in July- Wagenseil, who was not sure of February, fixed it probably in August-Lightfoot, on the 15th of September-Scaliger, Casaubon, and Calvisius, in October-others, in November-but the Latin Church, supreme in power, and infallible in judgment, placed it on the 25th of December, the very day on which the ancient Romans celebrated the feast of their goddess Bruma." See more in Robinson's Notes on Claude's Essay, vol. i. p. 275, &c. Pope Julius I. was the person who made this alteration, and it appears to have been done for this reason: the sun now began his return towards the northern tropic, ending the winter, lengthening the short days, and introducing the spring.
All this was probably deemed emblematical of the rising of the Sun of righteousness on the darkness of this world, and causing the day-spring from on high to visit mankind.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. And there were in the same country shepherds , etc.] For Bethlehem was a place of pasture: near to Ephrata, the same with Bethlehem, were the fields of the wood, ( <19D206> Psalm 132:6) and the tower of Edar or the tower of the flock, ( Genesis 35:21, Micah 4:8) and here David kept his father's sheep, ( 1 Samuel 17:15) so that we need not wonder to hear of shepherds here, abiding in the field, watching over their flock by night: from whence it appears, that Christ was born in the night; and the Jews say, that the future redemption shall be in the night; and Jerom says f111 , it is a tradition of the Jews, that Christ will come in the middle of the night, as was the passover in Egypt: it is not likely that he was born, as is commonly received, at the latter end of December, in the depth of winter; since at this time, shepherds were out in the fields, where they lodged all night, watching their flocks: they were diligent men, that looked well to their flocks, and watched them by night, as well as by day, to preserve them from beasts of prey; they were, as it is in the Greek text, keeping the watches of the night over their flock. The night was divided into four watches, the even, midnight, cock crowing, and morning; and these kept them, as the Arabic version adds, alternately, some kept the flock one watch, and some another, while the rest slept in the tent, or tower, that was built in the fields for that purpose. There were two sorts of cattle with the Jews; there was one sort which they called twyrbdm , the cattle of the wilderness, that lay in the fields; and another sort which they called twtyyb , the cattle of the house, that were brought up at home: concerning both which, they have this rule f112 ; they do not water nor slay the cattle of the wilderness, but they water and slay the cattle of the house: these are the cattle of the house, that lie in the city; the cattle of the wilderness, are they that lie in the pastures.
On which, one of their commentators observes, these lie in the pastures, which are in the villages, all the days of cold and heat, and do not go into the cities, until the rains descend.
The first rain is in the month Marchesvan, which answers to the latter part of our October, and the former part of November; and of this sort, seem to be the flocks those shepherds were keeping by night, the time not being yet come, of their being brought into the city: from whence it appears, that Christ must be born before the middle of October, since the first rain was not yet come; concerning this, the Gemara is more large; the Rabbins teach, that these are they of the wilderness, or fields, and these are they of the house; they of the field are they that go out on the passover, and feed in the pastures, and come in at the first rain; and these are they of the house, all that go out and feed without the border, and come and lie within the border (fixed for a sabbath day's journey): Rabbi says, those, and those are of the house; but these are they that are of the field, all they that go out and feed in the pastures, and do not come in to remain, neither in the days of the sun, nor in the days of the rains.
To the shepherds, the first notice of Christ's birth was given; not to the princes and chief priests, and learned men at Jerusalem, but to weak, mean, and illiterate men; whom God is pleased to choose and call, and reveal his secrets to; when he hides them from the wise and prudent, to their confusion, and the glory of his grace: and this was a presage of what the kingdom of Christ would be, and by, and to whom, the Gospel would be preached.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8-20 - Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are no out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an hones calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of thi work; Glory to God in the highest. God's good-will to men, manifeste in sending the Messiah, redounds to his praise. Other works of God ar for his glory, but the redemption of the world is for his glory in the highest. God's goodwill in sending the Messiah, brought peace into thi lower world. Peace is here put for all that good which flows to us from Christ's taking our nature upon him. This is a faithful saying attested by an innumerable company of angels, and well worthy of all acceptation, That the good-will of God toward men, is glory to God in the highest, and peace on the earth. The shepherds lost no time, but came with haste to the place. They were satisfied, and made know abroad concerning this child, that he was the Saviour, even Christ the Lord. Mary carefully observed and thought upon all these things, whic were so suited to enliven her holy affections. We should be mor delivered from errors in judgment and practice, did we more full ponder these things in our hearts. It is still proclaimed in our ear that to us is born a Saviour, Christ the Lord. These should be gla tidings to all.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ ποιμενες 4166 N-NPM ησαν 2258 5713 V-IXI-3P εν 1722 PREP τη 3588 T-DSF χωρα 5561 N-DSF τη 3588 T-DSF αυτη 846 P-DSF αγραυλουντες 63 5723 V-PAP-NPM και 2532 CONJ φυλασσοντες 5442 5723 V-PAP-NPM φυλακας 5438 N-APF της 3588 T-GSF νυκτος 3571 N-GSF επι 1909 PREP την 3588 T-ASF ποιμνην 4167 N-ASF αυτων 846 P-GPM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. Shepherds. Luke's Gospel is the gospel of the poor and lowly. This revelation to the shepherds acquires additional meaning as we remember that shepherds, as a class, were under the Rabbinic ban, because of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict legal observance wellnigh impossible.Keeping watch (fulassontev fulakav). Fulakh is sometimes used of a watch as a measure of time, as in Matt. xiv. 25; Mark vi. 48; Luke xii. 38. So possibly here. See Rev. in margin, night watches. There is a play upon the words: watching watches. There was near Bethlehem, on the road to Jerusalem, a tower known as Migdal Eder, or the watch tower of the flock. Here was the station where shepherds watched the flocks destined for sacrifice in the temple. Animals straying from Jerusalem on any side, as far as from Jerusalem to Migdal Eder, were offered in sacrifice. It was a settled conviction among the Jews that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, and equally that he was to be revealed from Migdal Eder. The beautiful significance of the revelation of the infant Christ to shepherds watching the flocks destined for sacrifice needs no comment.
Their flock (thn poimnhn). May not the singular number fall in with what has just been said? - the flock, the temple flock, specially devoted to sacrifice. The pronoun their would furnish no objection, since it is common to speak of the flock as belonging to the shepherd. Compare John x. 3, 4.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
2:8 {Abiding in the field} (agraulountes). From agros, field and aule, court. The shepherds were making the field their court. Plutarch and Strabo use the word. {Keeping watch} (fulassontes fulakas). Cognate accusative. They were bivouacking by night and it was plainly mild weather. In these very pastures David had fought the lion and the bear to protect the sheep (#1Sa 17:34f.). The plural here probably means that they watched by turns. The flock may have been meant for the temple sacrifices. There is no way to tell.
