The Shepherds And The Birth Of Jesus. Series

Migdal Eder—the “tower of the flock”—was first mentioned in Genesis 35. “So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder” (Genesis 35:19–21). In the context the “tower of Eder” or “tower of the flock” was located near Bethlehem.

About a thousand years after Rachel’s death the prophet Micah spoke about the still future birth of Israel’s Messiah. Everyone knows the prediction that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), but few look at the larger context. Micah also predicted the reappearance of God’s kingdom at Migdal Eder—the tower of the flock. “And as for you, tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come—even the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem” (Mic. 4:8).

Edersheim argues that the flocks kept at Migdal Eder were destined for temple sacrifice. The shepherds keeping watch over these sheep knew the purpose for the lambs under their care. And their job was to keep the animals under them from becoming injured or blemished. It was to those watching over animals destined for temple sacrifice that the angels announced Jesus’ birth. “For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

The arrival of the ultimate Lamb of God was revealed to those responsible for watching over the sacrificial lambs that had always pointed toward Him.

Alfred Edersheim goes on to say:

"At the time of the birth of Jesus, Migdal Eder was a specific place. It was the location where shepherds brought their sheep. The sheep were to be sacrificed at the Temple. These were not just any flock and herd. The shepherds who kept them were men who were specifically trained for this royal task. They were educated in what an animal that was to be sacrificed had to be and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged or blemished. During lambing season the sheep were brought to the tower from the fields, as the lower level functioned as the birthing room for sacrificial lambs. Being themselves under special rabbinical care, these priests would strictly maintain a ceremonially clean birthing place. Once birthed, the priestly shepherds would routinely place the lambs in the hewn depression of a limestone rock known as “the manger” and “wrap the newborn lambs in swaddling clothes,” preventing them from thrashing about and harming themselves “until they had calmed down” so they could be inspected for the quality of being “without spot or blemish”.

The swaddling bands held the lambs for inspection to insure they met the standard set forth in the law - Numbers 28:3, Exodus 12:1-6. The lambs were restrained to keep them from harming themselves and disqualifying them from sacrifice. Lambs had to be without blemish.

Luke's original audience would have immediately picked up on the religious significance of the Bethlehem shepherds watching their flocks by night. Aware of the Old Testament prophesies and the Jewish Temple worship of the day, they would have known that when you said Bethlehem - you said "sacrificial lambs". The hills around Bethlehem were home to the thousands of lambs used in ritual worship in the Temple. As a boy from Bethlehem, King David would likely have tended sheep destined for the daily offerings.