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Jesus was a Carpenter

CHURCH POSITION

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary…” (Mark 6:3)
SCHOLARS

"...the Greek word for 'carpenter' in the gospels actually stands for an underlying Aramaic term that is used metaphorically in the Talmud to denote a scholar." (Porter, 2004, p. 81)

"In the Gospels, Jesus is called a tekton, a Greek word that meant not merely a carpenter skilled in making cabinets or furniture but a designer, construction engineer, or architect. A tekton could build a house, construct a bridge, or design a temple." (Starbird, 2003, p. 53)
THE REALITY

Nothing is known about Jesus’ middle years. A century after Jesus died, there were many tales about his infancy and childhood. A famous Greek martyr named Justin claimed that Jesus made ploughs and yokes in his father’s workshop,

 

Most people think that Jesus was a carpenter. The Gospel of Mark says: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary…” (6:3), although Matthew has a slightly different wording: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary?” (13:55) [1]

It is highly unlikely that Jesus was a carpenter. If we examine the 48 parables that occur in the Gospels, not a single one draws upon the experiences of a carpenter. Three of them refer to buildings (e.g., house divided, foolish builder, unfinished tower), and these may offer support for the idea that Jesus’ father was a builder, not a carpenter. [2]

It's also possible that Jesus and his family belonged to a group known as The Sleb, a still existing band of Bedouins, found mostlyin Syria, whose ancestry and customs include not only the Essenes but claim to go all the way back to Cain. This would  explain the propensity to travel, which Robert Eisler (1931) has argued (in The Messiah Jesus and John the Baptist), claiming that Jesus’ family plied their trade in the timeless manner of the Sleb. Interestingly, the Sleb were known to be accomplished in carpentry, masonry, building and a whole host of skills, and they fit well within the definitions of tekton, the name used to describe Joseph’s occupation. They were also known to be healers (Sinclair, 1952).

Updated 11/30/2006

[1] To complicate matters, Luke (4:22) says: “Is this not Joseph’s son?” with no mention of carpentry.

[2] Parable analysis may not be a foolproof way of determining Jesus’ occupation or interests. The most common themes (vineyards, slaves, ownership disputes) would dictate that Jesus had been the owner of a large vineyard  with serious production problems revolving around personnel.

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READER'S FORUM    
Date:     2006-05-22 Username:   william Helpful:   1 of 2
Why should Jesus have the same job as his father?
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Date:     2006-05-23 Username:   drj Helpful:   2 of 3
Generally speaking, children assumed the job that their father had. The son of a High Priest became a High Priest, and the son of a slave was a slave.
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Date:     2007-03-27 Username:   summitcitybiz Helpful:   0 of 2
As a carpenter, Joseph is assumed to be a mild mannered meager servant. However as a craftsman as the definition in Greek terms allows; Joseph was more than a man who worked in the woodworking arena. I believe (and i step out on my own belief) that Joseph (the earthly father of the Son of God) was not a mere carpenter. He was a craftsman of the highest degree. Not to belittle the craftsmen in the area of wood; they are very important in everyday living; yet I do believe the craftsman we are referring to was probably a craftsman of gold or the material mfkst. What say you...
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Date:     2007-04-28 Username:   gkhaas Helpful:   1 of 3
The canonical gospels do not have a quote about Jesus lengthening a plank (or board) that his father had cut too short. The non-canonical Infancy Gospel of Thomas (Greek Text B: http://www.gnosis.org/library/inftomb.htm) does mention this, but has not been recognized by most churches.
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Date:     2007-10-16 Username:   anorak Helpful:   2 of 2
The word used to describe Jesus' trade in the original Greek was "tekton". While, yes, this can be a woodworker, it can also mean STONE worker or Mason (ie Freemason). In the New Testament Jesus is refered to as the CHIEF Cornerstone (in the OT the Christ is refered to as simply "cornerstone") Cornerstone is exactly what you think it is. CHIEF cornerstone, on the other hand, is the top of a Pyramid. Look on the back of a US 1$ bill. The Chief Cornerstone is the small pyramid (pyramidion) floating above the larger partial pyramid. This is a very MASONIC symbol.
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Date:     2007-12-24 Username:   arcanestatic Helpful:   2 of 2
I agree with the comment about "tekton" being also "stoneworker." The evidence that I can present comes from the top of my head: a geological term. "Tectonic plates" are the giant landmass-bearing pieces of the earth's crust which shift and grind together in sich a manner as to provide mountains and valleys and the like. Since the earth's crust is made of, well, _earth_, it supports the claim that he may have been a stoneworker. However, I must point out that in Anorak's comment, the word "Mason" is equated to be the same as "Freemason." A mason is a craftsman who works with stone or brick. A freemason is one who is skilled in carving Freestone, but the word "free" was not added to the word "mason" until the Middle Ages. I am not certain if Anorak was associating this woth the tradition of the Freemasons, so I thought I would make it clear that the tradition of the Masonic Fraternity was established WAY after Jesus's time and cannot really be related to him. Just my two cents. Perhaps I was reading too much into Anorak's comment.
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Date:     2008-01-26 Username:   SplPio Helpful:   2 of 2
In Bible times, carpenters were employed in building houses, constructing furniture, and making farm implements. Justin Martyr, of the second century C.E., wrote of Jesus: “He was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and yokes.”
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Date:     2010-03-05 Username:   momzhere Helpful:   0 of 1
How many trees are there in Israel? The real meaning of that word, "carpenter" is a master craftsman, not one who works with wood. He did a lot of stone work and some wood. That area is very stoney.
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Date:     2010-04-15 Username:   n.bradley-dixon Helpful:   0 of 0
It is difficult to make conclusions as to what trade jesus followed to that end did it matter? If we take on the word tekton and attempt to use the koine meaning the tendency is to move toward a worker of stone. As herod rebuilt the temple in and around the period we are discussing the elders would not allow reconstruction until all stones were dressed ready to assemble. Also massive building projects of city and palace were underway. Ratio between wood working and stone can be guestimated at roughly 18/20 stone workers to one wood worker. Also more stone workers would move borders as the work load increased. Wood was not in short supply at the time of ishua bar abbas,the greeks had used lebanese cedar for building their ships as well as building construction without depleting the stocks as they have today and are protected. This is an over simplification and the reader must check his or her references to the issues raised.
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