Jesus as a Carpenter

[Keef]

Please feel free to discuss this topic here.

 

[nogard]

I think he might have been a stonemason

 

[David_1]

He was more like a handi-man tradie. Because I don't think there was a specialisation of carpenter back then. He was more 'craftsman'.

 

[Keef]

I think he might have been a stonemason

Why do you think that Jesus was a stonemason?

 

[nogard]

Why do you think that Jesus was a stonemason?

Not a lot of wood in Nazareth at that time.

 

[nl]

Not a lot of wood in Nazareth at that time.

Do you like to doubt?

 

[wwjd_kilden]

according to someone on Google: Jesus' adopted father Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55 & Mark 6:3). The Greek word is Teckton which means builder

oh well, whether it was wood or stone: I can't really imagine it, because either way I think it was quite different from what it is today. I do imagine him and Joseph sitting in the workshop chatting though

 

[ThomistColin]

We've been taught that Jesus was a carpenter, though He was more like a tinker or an oddjob man according to the Greek usage of the word we translate as carpenter. The village would have relied heavily upon Him. They would have asked Him to build walls, mend roofs, fix broken pottery, and make pens for sheep and livestock. To me, when I learned this, I was not scandalized, because by far this picture of Jesus as the "fixer" or mender of things broken and maker of the necessary is exactly what He came to do.

 

[john832]

We've been taught that Jesus was a carpenter, though He was more like a tinker or an oddjob man according to the Greek usage of the word we translate as carpenter. The village would have relied heavily upon Him. They would have asked Him to build walls, mend roofs, fix broken pottery, and make pens for sheep and livestock. To me, when I learned this, I was not scandalized, because by far this picture of Jesus as the "fixer" or mender of things broken and maker of the necessary is exactly what He came to do.

I would have characterized it as a general contractor.

 

[JimmieD]

During the time period that would have covered Jesus' childhood, Herod Antipas had some massive building projects in Sepphoris and Tiberias in the Galilee region. It's very likely that a "tekton" like Joseph and Jesus would have worked on those building projects in Sepphoris and Tiberias.

 

[posthuman]

** imagines a sense of foreshadowing every time He got a splinter **

or do you think He was perfect in this way too, never dropping furniture on his toe or nicking himself with a saw?

 

[ThomistColin]

I would have characterized it as a general contractor.

True, but the reason why I said tinker or oddjob man is because a general contractor doesn't fix broken pottery or do those small monotonous jobs that would have been important to the everyday person in their days. Jesus would have also fixed farming equipment and other small items that today we would fix with duct tape or just throw away. That's why I used the characterization of a tinker/oddjob man. Though, even in a modern sense that is beyond us since such people don't exist anymore. If I shatter a plate or glass I just throw it away and get a new one...something that would be a foreign idea to the people of this time.

 

[nl]

5045 τέκτων [tekton /tek·tone/] n m. From the base of 5098; GK 5454; Two occurrences; AV translates as “carpenter” twice. 1 a worker in wood, a carpenter, joiner, builder. 1A a ship’s carpenter or builder. 2 any craftsman, or workman. 2A the art of poetry, maker of songs. 3 a planner, contriver, plotter. 3A an author


Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

"Tekton"obviously resembles word like "technician" or even contemporary slang like "techie" but the primary definitions 1 and 2 do appear to be related to carpentry and craftsmanship.