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The existence of Torah provokes the need for masterful knowledge of it and expertise. At the time of Ezra and for a considerable period afterwards this was the primary concern for priests. Ezra himself was both priest (expert in, and guardian of, Torah) and scribe. Gradually this changed and lay Israelites took over the study of Torah, and along with the priests an independent order of ‘Torah Scholars’ or scribes came into being. These Torah Scholars were held in high esteem; yet all the activities of the sages, educational and judicial, were to be unpaid and were instructed to obtain their income from other sources.
Despite all the traveling and teaching rabbis did, rabbinic literature seems to discourage charging a fee for teaching the Scriptures and therefore almost all rabbis earned their living by some trade or craft of their hands, probably following the trade of his father. For it was a principle, frequently expressed, if possible “not to forsake the trade of the father”—most likely not merely from worldly considerations, but because it might be learned in the house; perhaps even from considerations of respect for parents. During the First Century C.E. there was a vast amount of public building going on (under Herod the Great, Antipas and Philip), which would require and occupy many men.
It seems that Jesus, the Master Himself, was a craftsman and humbled Himself to the trade of His adoptive father. “Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?” (Mark 6:3). The Gospel of Matthew states, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” (Matt 13:55). In biblical thinking the assumption behind the word “son” was that descendents would share the characteristics of their forefathers. Usually children took on their family’s profession and worshipped the family’s gods. It was assumed that children would even tend to take on their ancestor’s personalities: If their father was wise, they would be wise; if he was warlike, they would be warlike. Both Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55 specify, Joseph and his son, Jesus, were tektons. Although little is mentioned in the Scriptures of Joseph’s life, because of the cultural surroundings, it is likely that Jesus would have learned and mastered this skill from his father. The tekton was a construction craftsman able to work with wood, stone and bricks
Stones and rocks are everywhere in Israel; for millennia they have provided implements and articles used in everyday life. There are innumerable uses of these stones including construction of public buildings, fortifications, roads, and courts. Stones were also used to seal caves, tombs, and wells, and to make slabs for decorations or inscriptions. Long before pottery was invented, stones were shaped into implements of all sorts, such as mills, mangers, anchors, millstones, grinders, mortars and pestles, tools, plummets, loom weights, bowls and cups, knives and other cutting instruments.
Nazareth, a small village in fertile Lower Galilee, could probably not provide enough business or livelihood for a tekton, (builder, carpenter, mason) and his family. The nearby city of Sepphoris had been destroyed by the Romans in 6 C.E., but was now being rebuilt by Herod Antipas (Herod the Great’s Son) to serve as the capital of his kingdom, the areas of Galilee and Perea. (Note, this city is never mentioned in the Gospels). The new capital city was to be Roman in style, with a theater and an aqueduct – these involved masonry, and so did the Roman style of houses; and here was located Antipas’s treasury. It was designed to be one of the finest of modern cities in its time. Nazareth was only 3.5 miles southeast of Sepphoris – a short walk of about one hour for the people of the time. Assuming that Jesus was born approximately 6 B.C.E., He spent His childhood and at least some of His youth near Sepphoris and may have been influenced by its culture and the contacts emerging from connections of His village to the city. As some scholars have suggested, Joseph and Jesus could have worked on the construction projects at Sepphoris. Archeologists estimate the population of Nazareth during the time of Jesus to be 120-150 people, and there couldn’t have been a ton of construction work to do in that small village. It took 14 years to complete the city of Sepphoris, those in need of some more work likely could have found some there. In addition, archeologists have discovered a sizeable ancient quarry between Nazareth and Sepphoris. We walked from Nazareth to Sepphoris and stopped by this quarry along the way. Although there is no hard evidence to prove it, I personally hold to the opinion that it is quite likely that Joseph could have been teaching his son the family trade while cutting stones out of this quarry.
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Standing on the Nazareth Ridge looking NW towards Sepphoris
The ancient quarry discovered between Nazareth and Sepphoris
A large theater in the city of Sepphoris
