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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Jesus' Occupation: Was Jesus a Carpenter?

Jesus was a carpenter, right?  It’s one of the most widely known “facts” about Jesus’ life prior to his ministry.  In many ways, it is the only “fact” we know about Jesus’ life before his baptism by John the Baptist. 



Surprisingly, no text of the New Testament tells us that Jesus was a carpenter.

In only one Gospel is there any hint as to what Jesus’ occupation was prior to the start of his ministry.  This comes from the Gospel of Mark, where he notes that Jesus was a tekton – that is, a builder or craftsman.  In the Greek version of the Old Testament, this same word (tekton) is used to translate the Hebrew word charash, which means the same thing – artisan, craftsman, engraver, etc.

The only other time the word tekton appears in the New Testament is in the Gospel of Matthew, where the writer tells us that Jesus was the son of a tekton.  Perhaps Matthew was implying that Jesus followed in his father’s footsteps, but in any case, the only explicit reference in the New Testament comes from Mark.

Tekton, as stated above, is a word meaning “builder” or “craftsman.”  Literally, it means “someone who creates.”  It certainly can refer to something like a carpenter – that is, a woodworker.  But, like our own word “builder,” it does not exclusively refer to the profession of carpentry.  Unfortunately, there is no context in Mark’s passage (or Matthew’s, for that matter) to imply exactly what sort of tekton Jesus was. 

The tradition that tekton, in the Gospels, referred specifically to carpentry seems to be an early one.  Justin Martyr, writing in the mid-2nd century (only about 80 years after the first Gospel), states that Jesus was a carpenter who built yokes and plows like his father before him.  Justin tells us that Jesus used his woodworking trade to teach “the symbols of righteousness” to his followers and to encourage them to be productive. 

Sometime later, around 200 C.E., another Church father – this time the prolific writer Origen – denies that Jesus was a carpenter and notes explicitly that the Gospels do not, in fact, tell us this widely known “fact” (clearly Origen understood that “tekton” was not a specific reference to carpentry). 

We are left them with a problem: the word used in the New Testament is vague, and the debate about what, exactly, this word referred to is as old as Christianity itself.  How can we possibly hope to clear up the confusion?  Our only option is to look at other available evidence, both textual and historical, and when we do, it seems likely that Jesus was not, in fact, a carpenter.

One of the ways that scholars attempt to better understand the so-called “lost years” of Jesus’ life is by looking at the content of his parables.  What sorts of things did Jesus talk about?  What images and metaphors did he like to use in teaching?  In his parables, we never find references to anything having to do with woodworking – nothing about boat building, for instance, or fashioning plows or yokes (as per Justin Martyr), etc.  What we do find there, however, are parables about stone-working – consider, for instance, the parable of the foolish builders, where Jesus brings up the image of a man digging into solid ground to build a firm (i.e. “stone”) foundation for his house; or consider when Jesus quotes a passage from the Old Testament dealing with “the stone the builders rejected” and how it would become “the cornerstone.”  Think also of when Jesus nicknamed his closest companion, Simon.  Simon did not become “the Hammer.”  No, he became “the Rock” – the foundation on which Jesus’ movement would be built.   

In fact, Jesus brings up images of stone-working quite frequently in his sayings.  The parable of the wise and foolish builders, in particular, seems to imply a fairly intimate understanding of stone building practices in general. 

In addition to these clues, consider also the historical context.  It is known that there was very little in Galilee during Jesus’ lifetime that was made of wood.  Wood, in fact, was a scarce commodity in 1st century Galilee.  Houses, for instance, were made of stone or mud-brick, typically with thatched roofs.  Carpentry would not have been a very common trade.  Masonry, on the other hand, would have been a major industry, employing hundreds, if not thousands, throughout Jesus’ homeland. 

During the “lost years” of Jesus’ life, the major Galilean town of Sepphoris was rebuilt.  Sepphoris had been destroyed in the wake of the death of Herod the Great, and his successor, Herod Antipas, wanted to rebuild it to honor his Roman overlords.  Sepphoris, as it happens, was about 4 miles away from Nazareth – literally a new, shining white city on the hill visible from the valley in which the village of Nazareth set.  If Jesus and his family members had anything at all to do with the building industry, it is a virtual certainty that they would have spent a significant amount of time working in Sepphoris.  The buildings in Sepphoris were not made of wood.  They were made of stone.

Might Jesus have lain these stones inside a ritual Jewish bathing pool in Sepphoris?
It's not outside the realm of possibilities.

Considering these textual and historical clues, it seems probable that Jesus was, in fact, someone who worked with stone rather than wood.  Given his background and the historical context, it is likely that he was simply a laborer who helped haul stones and put them in place, rather than actually carving the stones himself.  He was probably not, in other words, an actual stone mason.  Of course, we can never know for certain.  But then again, we can rarely know anything in ancient history “for certain.”  The best we can do is collect evidence and piece together the resulting puzzle.  And in this case, the puzzle puts a rock in the hands of Jesus, not a hammer and nails.  

24 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:28 AM

    Fascinating. Thank you.

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  2. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment! Glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. Anonymous1:49 PM

    eThanks for the information. I have always heard that Jesus was a carpenter but as you explain it, he most likely was not a carpenter as we think of to day. I assume that because the Bible states that his father was a carpenter they figure he was also.
    Thanks again.

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  4. Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for leaving a comment!

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    1. Anonymous1:53 PM

      I would be hesitant to believe Origen. He was known to have heretical beliefs.

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  5. Anonymous9:01 PM

    I enjoyed the article very much and I too believe that Jesus was more likely to have been a builder or craftsman of wood or stone. The Greek evidence and Jesus' own literary references seem to support this. I find some fascination in the fact that much of what mainline Christianity believes is not strictly true. For instance, there are the nails driven through His hands on the cross. Forensic evidence says that His body could not have been adequately supported that way. There is much to support the idea that the nails were through His wrists. I know that the Greek word for hand also includes the wrist. Interesting huh? I am all for a closer look at the original texts in order to get a clearer picture of our Lord and Savior.

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  6. Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed the post. I too have always been fascinated by the disconnect between what many Christians believe and what the bible actually says.

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  7. In my opinion, there doesn't appear to be any internal evidence to support Jesus being anything more than a tekton. If we had nothing else, reading into the parables and making educated assumptions would be an acceptable approach; however, we do have something else. The statement of Justin Martyr. He claims he built yokes like his father. There's no reason to believe this isn't true. Martyr is only 80 years removed and someone who builds yokes would be a tekton.

    Fun subject.

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  8. Thanks for commenting James. I noted the reference of Justin in the blog. Rather than 80 years, however, Justin is dated around 120 years after Jesus' death (in his writings, he specifically notes that Jesus was born 150 years earlier).

    I'm not convinced by Justin's testimony, primarily for two reasons.

    First of all, Origen, writing just 50 years after Justin, feels no compulsion to believe what Justin says, and explicitly contradicts Justin by saying Jesus was not a carpenter. Origen was an historian and scholar, whereas Justin was primarily an apologist (i.e., a theologian). I'm more inclined to trust Origen's research and methods.

    Secondly, being 120 years removed from the life of Jesus and probably 90 or more years removed from the life of any of his apostles, I don't see any overwhelming reason to assume Justin is relaying accurate information.

    Would you be inclined to trust a purely oral tradition that dated back to the time of the Civil War?

    In fact, the very fact that Justin's account is quite detailed (specifically mentioning yokes) speaks to me of legend (legendary accounts tend to be more detailed than historical ones).

    Also, there is an obvious theological motivation behind Justin's words. Justin explicitly states that by making ploughs and yokes, Jesus was "teaching the symbols of righteousness and hard work."

    I'm not accusing Justin of making things up. I'm suggesting that Justin has learned an oral tradition that undoubtedly formed from the use of "tekton" in the Gospels, and probably began life as part of a homily on Jesus's occupation. After all, that's exactly how Justin relays the information.

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  9. Anonymous7:47 AM

    Anonymous wrote:
    "Forensic evidence says that His body could not have been adequately supported that way."

    This isn't really true. Yes, it's true that some have SAID this, but when their work is examined, it's found to be nothing but assumptions.

    In fact, dozens, perhaps hundreds of people are crucified every year in the Philippines, in a ritual practiced by Roman Catholics there. They are literally crucified, and the nails are driven through their hands (modern English meaning) & feet. They remain there as long as they can, which is, in some cases, longer than Jesus remained on the cross.

    So, the argument that "forensic evidence proves" is rather like saying, "scientific evidence proves that heavier-than-air machines cannot fly."

    Yet, they do.

    That said, yes, it's quite possible that the nails were through his wrists. The language allows for that. We simply don't know one way or another.

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  10. Thanks for the comment, anonymous. You make good points.

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  11. Here's some reasons why it could be yokes:

    1) Jewish scholars/rabbis have a consensus about it. It's in the Encyclopedia Judaica.

    2) Back then, in that culture, children followed in the footsteps of their fathers. Family trades were passed down. Look at the fishermen disciples.

    3) Jesus seems to have at least paid very close attention to what Joseph was doing or apprenticed with him. I say this because

    4) He also talks about yokes in parables in such a way that we have to actually research yokes to get the full concept of what He was saying, coming from His own knowledge of them.For example: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Pulling a yoke doesn't sound very restful until you know the point of a double yoke, worn by two oxen. It's made in such a way that the stronger, more experienced ox carried much more of the weight until the younger one was strong enough and had learned how to do it himself through observation. So the verse takes on a new meaning in that light.

    He might have talked about stone a lot because He compared Himself to the temple. Paul goes on to compare all Christians to the temple of the Spirit, but he only made tents. Paul and Peter talked about the cornerstone, too. I did notice, though, that most of the talk about cornerstones are actually quotes from Old Testament prophecy. But this is all speculation, of course.

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  12. You make a valid point about Jesus's use of the word "yoke." However, there's no reason, from that one statement, to assume it implies he was a yoke-maker. Jesus was a peasant from rural Galilee - which was, itself, the backwaters of ancient Palestine. For a modern analogy, imagine someone from the backwoods of Montana.

    Many, if not most, of his parables involve images of rural life. A farmer spreading seed; a woman kneading dough; a shepherd herding sheep. I would argue that his analogy of the yoke was simply another metaphor he drew from his rural Galilean upbringing.

    As for following in the father's footsteps...I agree with you. The problem is that we don't know what Joseph did for a living either, of course. That's the whole issue here. What did the Gospel writers mean when they said Joseph, and later Jesus, was a "tekton"?

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  13. CLARA9:34 AM

    As a lay Christian, I am not convinced that between Jesus at 12 years and the lost years until he started recruiting disciples that he did anything consistently that could be called an occupation. Please share evidence

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  14. Thanks for posting, Clara. I sorta already provided the evidence though...it's in the blog post.

    Other than what I've already written, I'm not sure what evidence you are looking for.

    You say you aren't convinced Jesus had any real "occupation" during his lost years. What do you suppose he was doing during that time?

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  15. I have come to a different opinion of Jesus occupation. I tell it in my book JESUS GARDENS ME, published on Amazon in 2020, March. This post refers to the many references to building. But in my research I do a counting of the number of parables that come from agriculture. My research is in these two chapters:Chapter 1 Research Focusing on Jesus’ Occupation.
    Chapter 2 Cross-cultural Anthropology.
    I believe Jesus' family after the death of Joseph lost their land and Jesus became an itinerant worker, kind of similar to the Mexican Americans that live in South Texas where I now life. They are kind of jacks of many trades. I think that's what Jesus became.

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  16. Thanks for the comment, David.

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  17. Anonymous5:49 PM

    Tekton: Builder and/or craftsman. Yes, Our Lord probably worked with stone as His father probably did. AND He also probably worked with wood and leather when He made YOKES etc. A builder works with a lot of different materisls... a real craftsman would work out a way to make a better yoke. Why should He not have made yokes if there was a demand for them:-)

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  18. Origen lived and worked before orthodoxy was fully established. What he believed was perfectly normal and "orthodox" for his day. It was only after the fact that the emerging Church decided to consider him a heretic, and that was primarily because of his views on Jesus' divinity. His reliability as a historian of early Christianity has never been questioned, even by the Church.

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  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  20. Anonymous12:02 AM

    Jesus said "my yoke is easy and my burden is light", and "he that putteth his hand to the plow and looketh back is not fit for the kingdom"
    Sounds like a plow builder to me.

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  21. Anonymous, it sounds more to me like someone who was familiar with peasant concerns - like plows and farms and fields. He also talks of mustard seeds and yeast, but we don't assume he was a baker.

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  22. Anonymous1:02 PM

    I think you need to compare with the old Testament. Proverbs 8:30 shed alot of light on this. Jesus and His Father worked together to make this world as a "master craftsman". H525 say: artificer, architect, master workman, skilled workman; probably in the sense of training ; skilled, that is, an architect (like H542): - one brought up

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  23. Not sure how this post came to me. I am glad it did! My book JESUS GARDENS ME By David J. Jackson (On AMAZON) Chapter 1, Research Focusing on Jesus' Occupation and Chapter 2, Cross Cultural Anthropology share my research on this topic.
    Chapter 4 "Fanciful Speculation" or "Fruitful Contemplation?" can be summed up in this comment (p 42): "I think one of the beautiful things about iconography is how there is the ability to depict things not necessarily as they appear, but as they actually are. One might say that Mary Magdalene indeed saw Christ as He truly is (even though she did not recognize Him), as the true Gardener."

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