Board index ‹ Jesus

[Gomer Pyle]

As a Christian, what do you think about the idea that Jesus may have been a stone mason, not a carpenter? I watched a documentary some time ago asserting this. The premise was:

1. The original word used in the scripture simply means someone who works with their hands.
2. There aren't a lot of trees in Nazareth, but there are a lot of stone resources.

I'm not looking for reasons that it isn't true (lumber could be imported). Rather, I'm interested to know if you think it's an un-Christian idea or your other thoughts on the possibility.

[jimwalton]

It's not an un-Christian idea, and it's of no consequence whether he was a stone mason, a carpenter, or both. It doesn't play into his identity as God or his salvific work on earth in the least.

Jesus was identified as the son of a carpenter (*tekton*) in only 1 verse (Mt. 13.55 and its parallel, Mk. 6.3). It's very inconsequential. Jesus never explicitly mentions it. It just doesn't matter. He was most likely a general craftsman who worked with stone, wood, and sometimes metal. Most references to *tekton* references to stone construction. Since Israel was a land of omnipresent stone and few trees, craftsmen such as Joseph, Jesus' father) worked primarily in stone, but would work in wood and metal as needed. Such a craftsman was called a "builder," a term used by Jesus in some of his parables.

Regarding Joseph and Mary's socio-economic status, suggestions have been made that they were likely ES6 (economic strength level 6)—subsistence level, either precariously above it or teetering below it). Jesus, his brothers, and other similar laborers from Nazareth probably works on the major building projects of nearby Sepphoris, about an hour's walk away.