# Jesus was a CARPENTER? Cite? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 25, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156 "2024-12-25T21:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/121 "2024-12-31T21:29:17Z")
My guess is that people screwed around then, too… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/122 "2024-12-31T23:16:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And debatable. Yes the term could be better translated as “maiden” or 'young unmarried woman" but back then, both were considered to virgins. And yet, “the young woman shall have a son” has a very different meaning from “the virgin shall have a son”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/123 "2025-01-01T01:54:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And yet, “the young woman shall have a son” has a very different meaning from “the virgin shall have a son”. Today it does, back then it didnt. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/124 "2025-01-01T02:23:39Z")
Young women had children all of the time, virgins not so much. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/125 "2025-01-01T02:47:19Z")
Not a young unmarried woman, not in that time and society, and if she did, she was ostracized. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/126 "2025-01-01T02:57:02Z")
Was Mary unmarried? ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/127 "2025-01-01T02:58:11Z")
Oops I see that I am contributing to a hijack. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/128 "2025-01-01T07:53:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My guess is that people screwed around then, too… > [@DrDeth](#): > > Not a young unmarried woman, not in that time and society, and if she did, she was ostracized. IIRC the penalty for getting caught was death, although when Joseph discovered his bride-to-be was well on the way to being a mother, he apparently considered keeping it quiet… Doesn’t mean maidens didn’t do it, just that they had to be more cautious and risk-averse due to the punishments for getting caught. > When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. > 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. Newer translations say “privately divorce” rather than “put her away privily”. Thus demonstrating that in many cases the extremes of law were not necessarily carried out. Or would Joseph be afraid people would laugh at him too because of the scandal? Nevertheless, he decided to listen to the voices in his head, and apparently the couple stayed together, suggesting Jesus spent some time doing the same work as his father. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/129 "2025-01-01T15:08:50Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Jesus spent some time doing the same work as his father I thought that was the whole point of this religion? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/130 "2025-01-01T15:09:28Z")
(I know what you meant, I just thought the phrasing was funny in this context.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/131 "2025-01-01T20:05:21Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > IIRC the penalty for getting caught was death, although when Joseph discovered his bride-to-be was well on the way to being a mother, he apparently considered keeping it quiet… So, it was _assumed_ that a young unmarried woman, i.e a maiden was a virgin. Of course that wasnt always true, but that was the assumption. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/132 "2025-01-01T21:37:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us._ > > In other words, Jesus/ _Yeshua_ would be called the Messiah- which is true, he was called that. How does calling someone the Messiah fulfil a prophecy that “they shall call his name Emmanuel”? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/133 "2025-01-01T22:36:49Z")
**Moderating** This has strayed pretty well outside of FQ bounds. Due to the subject matter, I think this will do better if we move it to IMHO instead of trying to force the conversation back into the bounds of a purely factual discussion. Moving from FQ to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/134 "2025-01-01T23:23:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And yet, “the young woman shall have a son” has a very different meaning from “the virgin shall have a son”. More to the point, “That virgin over there is going to have a son within the next year,” is different from “Within the next year, that woman over there is going to become pregnant and deliver a son _while remaining a virgin_.” The passage literally says “young woman,” or something archaic like “maiden,” but the connotations of the word do support the translation “virgin.” However, the sentence structure calls for the first translation here, clearly implying that the woman who is currently a virgin is very soon not going to be one. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/135 "2025-01-01T23:25:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not a young unmarried woman, not in that time and society, and if she did, she was ostracized. From what I understand, not necessarily in the Jewish community, as long as the union was not illegal. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/136 "2025-01-01T23:39:15Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > How does calling someone the Messiah fulfil a prophecy that “they shall call his name Emmanuel”? I’m not sure where “ **they** shall call his name Emmanuel,” [emp. added] is from, nor whether it is originally in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic, but Isaiah 7:14 ends with “ **she** shall name him: God is with us.” [emp. added] It’s ambiguous as to whether “God is with us” (im a-nu el) is the thing she names him, or just a comment on the conclusion of the process-- or even just an exclamation at the fact of it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/137 "2025-01-02T01:23:54Z")
It’d sure be funny if about 90% of Christianity’s hang-ups about sex can be attributed to a mistranslation between some ancient word for “young woman” and the equally ancient word for “virgin”. Or more accurately, it’d be funny if that organization / belief system had no power in the modern world. Instead, it’s merely a massive tragedy still unfolding 2 millennia later. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/138 "2025-01-02T01:26:07Z")
Denying the permanent virginity of Mary was an excellent way to get your self killed for hundreds of years. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/139 "2025-01-02T01:26:50Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > How does calling someone the Messiah fulfil a prophecy that “they shall call his name Emmanuel”? Even AI can answer that- _Calling someone the Messiah fulfills the prophecy “they shall call his name Emmanuel” because in the Bible, “Emmanuel” translates to “God with us,” and the Messiah is understood to be the embodiment of God dwelling among humanity, signifying that the Messiah is the prophesied figure who will be “God with us,” making the name “Emmanuel” a key identifier for the Messiah figure._ > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > From what I understand, not necessarily in the Jewish community, as long as the union was not illegal. Today or 2000 years ago? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156/140 "2025-01-02T02:22:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Even AI can answer that- The ai answer literally makes no sense at all. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > It’s ambiguous as to whether “God is with us” (im a-nu el) is the thing she names him, or just a comment on the conclusion of the process-- or even just an exclamation at the fact of it. @RivkahChaya 's answer actually makes sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-was-a-carpenter-cite/1012156.md?page=8)