The story of Jesus’ birth appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, two of the four canonical Gospels. Matthew’s account includes the visit of the wise men and Herod’s subsequent massacre of infants, while Luke describes the shepherds who came after hearing the angel’s message. Readers who are not familiar with the Bible might mistakenly assume these events happened on the same day, but in reality, there is at least a 40-day gap between them.
As mentioned in the text, for a male child, circumcision is performed on the eighth day after birth, and on the fortieth day, the mother undergoes a purification rite. For the firstborn son, a redemption price must also be offered, which Luke’s Gospel records in detail. Because of this, scholars believe that Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus stayed in Bethlehem for at least 40 days, and possibly up to two years or more. The two-year estimate is based on Herod’s order to kill all male children two years old and under.
The day Jesus was born is considered the day the angel appeared to the shepherds (Luke 2:11), and it seems that on the day Herod ordered the massacre, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with baby Jesus. In this text, that day is assumed to be the 41st day-the day after the purification rite. The number 40 holds various significant meanings throughout the Bible, so the text also attributes symbolic meaning to it. Of course, there is no obligation to accept my interpretation as definitive; after all, this is a novel inspired by historical facts.
The same applies to the boy and his father, other travelers in Bethlehem. These characters do not appear in the Bible but were created to portray the situation of the time from a different perspective. Therefore, rather than feeling uneasy about the appearance of characters not found in the Bible, I hope readers focus on the story being told through them. The shepherds’ story can be viewed similarly-these shepherds do appear in the Bible but are never mentioned again afterward. However, it seemed unlikely that those who witnessed angels and worshipped baby Jesus would remain inactive during the purification period, so I gave them a role during this time.
Regarding the shepherd, I incorporated various additional stories. The meeting of the shepherd and his wife was inspired by the plot development of Alphonse Daudet’s The Stars. I overlaid the image of Jesus onto the old shepherd who died in place of the shepherd. Events such as Antigonus’ rebellion during their youth, or the enslavement of all the residents of Emmaus and other cities, are all based on actual historical events. Future parts will also unfold stories grounded in real history, such as the rebellion of the shepherd Athronges after Herod’s death. Keeping these points in mind may greatly help in understanding the hearts and lives of the people of that time.
