01 / Bethlehem · Judaea
The first night
By the time they reached the town, the daylight had gone from the stones.
In contextJesus’s story begins in a Jewish family. In Matthew’s birth account, Herod is king of Judaea, ruling within Rome’s sphere of power. The child’s world is already shaped by rulers who live far beyond this room.
About this chapter
Source witnesses: Matthew 1–2; Luke 1–2. Photographs, private gestures and narration are a reimagining; original narration is not a direct quotation.