路加福音Luke
再訪馬槽 Revisiting the Manger
作者： Michael LeFebvre 譯者：駱鴻銘
（Dr. Michael LeFebvre是印第安納州，Brownsburg 改革宗長老會基督教會[Christ Church Reformed Presbyterian Church]牧師）
https://plus.google.com/u/0/105106813742373627205/posts/MQnXu2ZBRah
耶穌基督的襁褓布
Nancy
Pearcey/誠之譯
耶穌生在一個為生下獻祭羔羊的洞穴裏。這些生在伯利恆附近洞穴的公羊羔是專門供聖殿使用的。牠們要被分別出來成為“TAMIL”，即每天清晨獻的祭牲。這些羊羔也作為燔祭使用。母羊羔在聖殿裏供平安祭使用。
不過，這些生在伯利恆的羊羔最常見的用法是：牠們註定要成為逾越節的羔羊。因此，這些照顧他們的牧羊人實際上是祭司式的牧羊人。這些人從他們很小的時候就被指派要作『看顧』聖殿羊群的工作。他們其中一項任務是確定這些羊羔在出生時是沒有瑕疵的。
根據猶太口傳律法的經典《米示拿》（Mishnah），這些羊羔在出生後馬上就要用「襁褓」（swaddling
cloths）包裹起來，避免牠們受到任何損傷，因為羊羔在剛出生的頭幾個小時會激烈扭動，讓自己受傷。照顧這些羊羔的牧羊人也要保持這些洞穴在禮儀上是潔淨的。
馬利亞和約瑟因為在當地旅店找不到房間，就被允許住在半山腰的其中一個洞穴裏。在古老的伯利恆主誕堂（Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem）的教會底下已經找到這個洞穴。
What did the swaddling cloths
signify? Why was *that* given as a sign to the shepherds?
UPDATE: I decided to check out what the video
says. Here is more detail:
"Jesus
was born in a cave used for the birthing of sacrificial lambs. The male lambs
born in that cave, and others like it in the Bethlehem area, were to be used
exclusively in the Temple. They were set-aside to be the TAMIL, or the morning
sacrifices which began each day. They were also used for the burnt offerings.
The female lambs were used in the Temple for peace offerings.
However,
the most common usage for these lambs that were born in Bethlehem was this:
they were destined to become Passover lambs. Therefore, the shepherds that
attended them were actually shepherd-priests. These men had been designated
from the time they were very young to be the ones who would be assigned the
task of "keeping watch” over the Temple’s flocks. One of their tasks was
to make certain that none of these lambs were blemished while being birthed.
According
to the Mishnah, these lambs were immediately wrapped in "swaddling
cloths" after their births to protect them from injury, since baby lambs
tend to thrash about and harm themselves in their first couple of hours of
their lives. The shepherds who attended these lambs, being under special
rabbinical care, were also required to keep their birthing caves ritually
clean.
Since
there was no room for Mary and Joseph at the local caravansary, these young
people were allowed to occupy one of these birthing caves in the hillside. That
birthing cave is now found beneath the ancient Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem."
