# Jewish carpenters? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631 "2022-03-07T20:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/1 "2022-03-07T20:29:58Z")
Assuming Jesus was a real historical person, did he ever work as a carpenter once he learned the trade from Joseph? If so, what did he make… furniture etc? I mean, talk about antique value! There must be some stories about this? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/2 "2022-03-07T20:37:19Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Assuming Jesus was a real historical person, did he ever work as a carpenter once he learned the trade from Joseph? If so, what did he make… furniture etc? …a cross? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/3 "2022-03-07T20:38:07Z")
Nothing in the Gospels speaks to this with any specificity. There are references to Jesus as a carpenter (“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?”, Mark 6:3) and as the son of a carpenter (“Is not this the carpenter’s son?”, Matthew 15:55), but as far as I know, there is nothing in the Christian canon about what, if anything, he did as a carpenter. So, anything else would be pure speculation. Also, this article notes that the word which is typically translated as “carpenter” in English could also be translated as “laborer” or “builder,” so it may not be strictly a reference to carpentry. It may be more of a reference to Jesus’s background as the son of a laborer, rather than a member of the scholarly class. > **[Was Jesus Actually a Carpenter?](https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/was-jesus-actually-a-carpenter.html)** > > Scripture makes references to Jesus as a carpenter in the Gospels describing His life. We know that His earthly father Joseph was a carpenter and likely taught Jesus the skills of this trade before beginning His ministry work. Jesus would go on to... ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/4 "2022-03-08T11:23:21Z")
Oh, boo! Should have seen that one coming… ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/5 "2022-03-08T11:24:49Z")
Right, I was fairly sure there wasn’t much if anything in the canonical gospels. I was thinking more along the lines of speculative fiction? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/6 "2022-03-08T11:39:28Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Nothing in the Gospels speaks to this with any specificity. > > There are references to Jesus as a carpenter (“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?”, Mark 6:3) and as the son of a carpenter (“Is not this the carpenter’s son?”, Matthew 15:55), but as far as I know, there is nothing in the Christian canon about what, if anything, he did as a carpenter. So, anything else would be pure speculation. > > Also, this article notes that the word which is typically translated as “carpenter” in English could also be translated as “laborer” or “builder,” so it may not be strictly a reference to carpentry. It may be more of a reference to Jesus’s background as the son of a laborer, rather than a member of the scholarly class. > > [Was Jesus Really a Carpenter? The Work of Christ](https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/was-jesus-actually-a-carpenter.html) While the information contained there is not incorrect, I do wish to warn people of one thing. That site tried to push me to sign up for a series by known charlatan Dennis Prager, of the the sham university “Prager University.” It makes misinformation heavy videos on YouTube. I’m not sure why they’d think that some talk show pundit would have great insight into the Ten Commandments, but apparently they do. I had actually gotten this site mixed up with Christianity Today Magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/7 "2022-03-08T11:44:50Z")
I defer to the renowned Dr. Foley on this matter. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhpqiwyYlFo) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/8 "2022-03-08T11:59:07Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > ? If so, what did he make… furniture etc? I’ve heard that the original word indicates someone who constructs the wooden parts of buildings. And when he said that he could rebuild the Temple in three days, his actual experience as a builder is tied into the metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/9 "2022-03-08T12:16:12Z")
didn’t Prager have one of those "psychic/I talk to ghosts and dead people " around the time sci-fi had john Edwards on? I wonder what his fundie friends would think of that … ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/10 "2022-03-08T12:45:06Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > There must be some stories about this? You’re right in assuming that this would be an obvious basis for some very dodgy relics. One example is the painting of Mary and Jesus in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, said to have been [painted by St Luke on a table top previously made by Jesus in Joseph’s workshop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salus_Populi_Romani#History). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/11 "2022-03-08T14:06:07Z")
It’s entirely possible that Jesus was not a carpenter in any sense of the word. I commented on this three years ago, citing a comment I made twenty years ago. From that thread: Regarding Jesus being the “son of a carpenter,” have a look at this thread from way back in 2002. It’s not necessarily a sure thing: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-125771.html](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-125771.html) My contribution: > [@](#): > > In one book on Jesus – I don’t recall whose, unfortunately – it was claimed that there was a proverbial expression at that place and time that went something like “What Carpenter or Son of a Carpenter Could do \_\_\_\_\_\_?” He was suggesting that someone reputed to do miraculous things might, by virtue of the proverb, be “assigned” the position of a carpenter and a son of a carpenter. In other words – the legend of Christ accumulated details over the years, and this is how that detail was generated. Interesting theory, but I haven’t heard anyone else corroborate it. **RedNaxela** ’s response: > [@](#): > > CalMeacham, that’s particularly interesting because there is in fact such an expression in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 50b), about a knotty problem of Jewish law: “there is no carpenter nor son of a carpenter that could answer this.” [The Aramaic root for “answer,” parak, literally means “to take apart,” so that may have suggested the image of a carpenter working on it.] > [@The only object Jesus made was a whip?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-object-jesus-made-was-a-whip/830236/44): > > What is the relevant distinction between the two terms? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/12 "2022-03-08T19:12:47Z")
My father had pretty good carpentry skills. Among other things, he made an extensive complex of nicely put-together bookshelves for our living room. My furniture efforts have been limited to refinishing. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/13 "2022-03-08T20:22:07Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > And when he said that he could rebuild the Temple in three days,… That was just for the quote. In reality it would take at least a week assuming no permit delays. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/14 "2022-03-08T20:27:00Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > My furniture efforts have been limited to refinishing. Mine are 2x8s and concrete blocks. ---
**Author:** ![ArtBeforeScience](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ArtBeforeScience](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtBeforeScience)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-carpenters/960631/15 "2022-03-08T23:44:40Z")
It is said that Palestine was wetter a few thousand years ago, but now wood is scarce. Makes me think that anyone who was a builder was more likely to be a stone-mason. Maybe wood-workers made small things like chests or furniture. The antiquities that I saw there 40 years ago didn’t appear to feature wooden interiors or framing. But I wasn’t looking up to study the construction and most of them were dark and shadowy inside. Maybe as @kenobi_65 said above, it suggests that Jesus wasn’t an idle wealthy person living off the backs of others, but rather a skilled commoner: a useful person even when he wasn’t working miracles etc.