Note 80 — POSTSCRIPT
Reading edition
Though the ox and ass are not mentioned by St. Luke, it is an easy transition to them from the idea of the manger. Early Christian writers found a Scriptural sanction for them in two passages in the prophets: Isaiah i. 3, “The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib,” and Habakkuk iii. 2 (a mistranslation), “In the midst of two beasts shall Thou be known.”