Shepherd's Field

There is no way of knowing exactly where in the Bethlehem area those "shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" were. There are a couple of spots that are said to be the "exact field" and churches have been built in those places. We visited a little hillside and saw lots of sheep. We also saw several natural caves where the sheep would have been gathered at night to make them easier to protect.

Soon after we arrived and began reading scripture and discussing that night long ago two real-life shepherds came. They were children--maybe around 10 years old--and sadly weren't dressed in brown bathrobes, nor did they carry long canes with hooks on the end. Yet another disappointment when comparing my own little visions of the Christmas story with reality! They herded the sheep right into our group and were more than willing to pose for pictures...for a price. Daniel warned us that if we wanted the sheep to stick around we'd better hold off on paying them. Sure enough, as soon as they received their dollar bills from many members of the group, they were off again herding the sheep back across a busy highway to where they camp with their Bedouin families. Smart kids--they must've made at least $50 for their little 30-minutes of shepherding! Daniel takes a tour group nearly ever week of the year and I'm almost positive these kids make much more from their brief outings across the freeway than from whatever real shepherding they do.