| The tower was located in the Shepherd's Field in Bethlehem Ephrathah, near the present-day city of Bethlehem. In ancient times, the watchtower was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild beasts. Depending on which of the three possible areas described today as the original Migdal Edar, it was no more than about 1–2 miles from Jerusalem.
In this sheltered building which was once the royal compound of David, shepherd priests would bring in the ewes which were about to bring forth their lambs. These special lambs became part of the unique temple flock, used for the continual burnt offerings made at the temple, and represented the price paid for Israel’s redemption from sin. The Jewish Mishna confirms that animals raised near the tower were indeed used for temple sacrifices. (1 Chronicles 11:7)
One of the priest’s duties was to verify that the lambs were in conformity with The Law, and worthy to be used in such a setting: they had to be without blemish, with no bones having been broken during birth or thereafter, and without any defect (Perfect). It was also their job to swaddle the newborn lambs in linen when they came forth — to clothe them in white swaddling cloth. The shepherds who kept them were men who were specifically trained for this royal, priestly task.
Being themselves under special Rabbinical rules of cleanliness and holiness, they would strictly maintain a ceremonially clean stable for a birthing place. This conflicts with many of our modern hymns and other traditions regarding the manger scene, filled with chickens, cows, goats, etc. In reality, it is very unlikely any other animals would have been found there. The Tower of the Flock was used for birthing ewes, and the surrounding fields were where the shepherds grazed their flocks. These shepherds customarily kept their flocks outdoors twenty-four hours a day every day of the year, and only brought the ewes in to deliver their lambs where their worthiness as sacrifices for Israel could be verified according to the law.
Many believe it was to this place that Joseph took Mary when they discovered the inn was full. It was in this special stable at Migdal Edar of Bethlehem — the Tower of the Flock — that Christ was born. Why would they have gone there? Could any Israelite simply seek shelter at a royal and traditionally sacred compound? Joseph’s ancestral lineage is found in Matthew 1:6–16. Mary’s is normally understood to be represented in the last half of Luke 3. What do their genealogies indicate? Both were descendants of King David. Staying in the royal compound of Migdal Edar was probably not a hospitality offered to everyone in Israel, but for Mary and Joseph, it was their right.
Many have dramatized the nativity to show them going from door to door, only to finally encounter one grumpy old inn keeper not completely indifferent to the couple’s pregnancy or plight, heartlessly pointing them around back to stay with the various animals there. Centuries of poetic license can be misleading. A close reading of Luke 2 shows no justification for this narrative. It simply says: “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”.
Even more evidence to support this theory comes from the annunciation made by an angel, who shortly thereafter announced the birth to shepherds nearby. The angel only told the shepherds that they would find the babe wrapped in “swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Many find it interesting that there was no need for the angel to give the shepherds further directions to the birth place, especially when there could have been dozens of mangers within a mile of wherever they were tending sheep. Why was that simple description enough? Because these men were the shepherd priests, who raised sacrificial lambs for the Temple!
Migdal Edar, the Tower of the Flock at Bethlehem, is the perfect place for Christ to have been born. More than likely, He was born in the very birthplace where tens of thousands of lambs, which had been sacrificed on the temple altar to prefigure Him, were also born. Those shepherds who witnessed of his birth were performing a priesthood duty, adding their priestly witness that He was indeed worthy of becoming the Great and Last Sacrifice, a spotless and perfect Lamb.
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