Bible fact · Direct biblical statement
Luke does not mention a donkey or an innkeeper
Luke says Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem and laid the baby in a manger; he does not mention a donkey or an innkeeper. Luke 2:4–7
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"Joseph also went up from Galilee... to Bethlehem... to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant." She laid the baby in a manger "because there was no room for them in the inn". Luke 2:4–7
What the Bible does not say
How Mary travelled, and any conversation with an innkeeper, are not recorded.
Read the passage
Luke 2:4–7 WEB
4Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. 6While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. 7She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
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For children
Christmas pictures often show Mary riding a donkey, but the Bible does not say how she travelled to Bethlehem.