We read of the inn as early as Genesis 42:27 and Genesis 43:21, when Jacob sent to Egypt for corn. As the word malon signifies simply “lodging place,” at first nothing more may be implied than a place near water, where travelers usually rested. It would soon have been found that persons traveling long distances needed protection and some better resting place at night, which led to such places being provided at certain stations. Those known in the East were merely enclosures walled round for security, with covered compartments attached to the walls, where travelers could recline, and place their goods. It was at an inn that Zipporah circumcised her son (Ex. 4:24).
In the New Testament when the Lord was born, the word for “inn” is κατάλυμα, which is translated “guest-chamber” (Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11); and may refer to a lodging house. Travelers have found such accommodation, and at times cattle occupied part of the house, which might account for a “manger” being found there. In Luke 10:34 the word is πανδοχεῖον, “a house for the reception of strangers,” a road-side inn. As there was a “host” to whom the injured man was committed, it was doubtless a better place than a Khan.