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Matthew 2:1a (NLT)
Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod (Herod I “Herodes Magnus” – Herod the Great)…

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
The Bible narrative doesn’t specify the time of day, I imagine it is night time.

LIGHTING NOTES:
The main source of light for this scene is the divine glow coming down from heaven, upon the baby.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Mary (the mother of Jesus), Joseph, the infant Jesus.
A donkey, two sheep, a sleeping lamb & a mouse.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This scene shows Mary & Joseph lying on straw bedding, with the baby Jesus between them. I enjoyed drawing the animals looking on in the picture.

Unlike the scene in SET 01, we are viewing this scene close up, without reference to the stable. In fact, Matthew’s gospel doesn’t mention the exact circumstances of Jesus’s birth at all, he simply states that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Matthew’s gospel doesn’t tell us that Mary & Joseph were living in Nazareth, Galilee at the time of the conception of Jesus. Matthew also omits the detail of their journey to Bethlehem. The map below shows you the probable routes Mary & Joseph may have taken on this long journey.

Map showing two possible routes taken by Mary and Joseph when they travelled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem

Link to related Map
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Here is the initial rough pencil sketch I drew to design the elements of this scene.

Matthew 02 – The Nativity SET 02 – Scene 04 – Jesus born in Bethlehem – Greyscale