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A little knoll of olive-trees surrounding a
group of ruins marks the traditional site of
the angels' appearance to the shepherds,
Migdol Eder, "the tower of the flock." But the
place where the first "Gloria in excelsis" was
sung is probably farther east, where the bare
hills of the wilderness begin, and a large
tract is claimed by the Bethlehemites as a
common pasturage. Here the sheep would be too
far off to be led into the town at night; and
exposed to the attacks of the wild beasts from
the eastern ravines, where the wolf and the
jackal still prowl, and where of old the yet
more formidable lion and bear had their
covert, they needed the shepherds' watchful
care during the winter and spring months, when
alone pasturage is to be found on these bleak
uplands. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 124.) |
