Where was Joseph?
We know from Luke 2:7 that Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. But, was she alone? Was there a mid-wife? Was Joseph out with the other nervous first-time father in the waiting area? We see in Luke 2:22 a hint that Joseph may have helped with the delivery. 40 days after the birth they went to Jerusalem for their purification. The text is explicitly plural: their purification. But it is unclear to whom it is referring to aside from Mary. According to the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish, extra-biblical legal requirements, if a man helped out with a delivery of a child, he was to offer a sacrifice for his purification as well. Perhaps Joseph was in there, receiving Jesus the moment he came out--maybe he even cut the cord (he was a man experiences with tools, being a carpenter!).