"In the first place he [James Tabor in his book The Jesus Dynasty] stresses that Mary and Joseph were exceedingly poor, since they could only offer two doves as a sacrifice for having Jesus (cf. Lk. 2.24: Lev. 12.8). This is overlooking the important point that since Joseph is an artisan used to bartering, he could hardly cart his wares all the way to Jerusalem to make an exchange for a lamb for sacrifice. Thus he must rely of what liquid assets he has to hand. We need to bear in mind that a money economy was only just on the rise, and Jews for their part, didn’t much like handling or dealing with money, particularly Roman coins. We must envision then that Joseph has very little monetary assets on the occasion of this sacrifice. This need not imply their ‘dire poverty’ (p. 87). Most of us know what it means to run short from time to time, and artisans, even those who did well, had this experience with some regularity though this hardly meant they could not afford a home and to support a family....We need to stop perpetuating the myth of the bucolic, impoverished, Jesus the illiterate peasant. " (Ben Witherington, 2006, http://benwitherington.blogspot.com")
"The manger did not symbolize poverty but a peculiarity of location caused by circumstances." (Spong, 1992, p. 144)
"There is notoriously little accurate information about Jesus's circumstances. But what there is clearly indicates that his family was well-to-do, and that his upbringing was of a kind available only to those with status and financial resources...Jesus is obviously literate and well educated...when education was essentially an adjunct of class." (Baigent, Lee & Lincoln, 1986, 30-31).
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There are a few hints as to the socioeconomic status of Jesus’ family. The common wisdom is that they were poor. Evidence for this comes from his birth in a stable/cave, the meager sacrificial offering, and Joseph's occupation as a carpenter. But a careful look reveals a different picture –
The nature of his birth (no room at the Inn) suggests that they were of limited means. Yet their means were not so limited that they didn’t apply to the Inn for a room, whereas most peasant travellers would either stay at the side of the road or stay with relatives. Hence, the election of staying at an Inn demonstrates at least a middle class background. Nor were they so impoverished that they didn’t make the journeys to Jerusalem for the holy days. And, apparently, Joseph made enough money that he had to go to Jerusalem to pay taxes. As indicated in another section, Joseph, was a master builder not a carpenter, and the opportunities for a master builder in the bustling area of central Galilee were many. However, the family’s devout religious attitude meant that most of Joseph’s earnings went to the Essene cult to which they belonged, leaving enough to live on, but little more.
Some scholars (e.g., Tabor, 2006) maintain that since Mary and Joseph offered birds (and not a lamb) at the childbirth ceremony (Luke 2:24) this demonstrates their impoverished status. However, Schaberg (1990) claims that “it is not certain that the alternative offered in Leviticus was still an active custom; possibly everyone offered birds by the time of Jesus (p. 98).”
The wedding at Cana, and the participation of Jesus’ mother, suggest that they were squarely in the middle class. Moreover, Jesus had many friends and associates from the wealthy class (e.g., Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea) and many of his stories indicate his familiarity with the issues confronting the landed gentry.
Finally, Jesus's education indicates that he was not a peasant. In those days, literacy was reserved for the top 3 to 5% of the population. No poor peasant's son would know how to read and write, speak Greek, and have an expert command of the scriptures.
Even if it were true that prior to Jesus' birth the family was poor, surely after he was born, with the gift of gold from the Magi, Jesus' family had sufficient funds.
Thus, all things considered, Jesus’ family was undoubtedly in the middle class.
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