Jesus Wasn’t Really A Carpenter
Today I found out Jesus wasn’t really a carpenter, at least not as we understand the profession. Now obviously, eventually Jesus’s chosen profession was of a “Rabbi” or teacher; so in that sense he wasn’t a carpenter regardless of translation. However, in his early years, it is supposed from Mark 6:2-3 that he was, like his step-father, a “carpenter” as commonly translated.
However, the chosen translation from the Greek word “tecton” to mean “carpenter” is a bit of a mistranslation. In fact, “tecton” (in Mark) or “tekton” (in Mathew) is more aptly translated into a word describing a “contractor”; specifically, contracting as a “builder” or “handyman”. Not necessarily having anything to do with wood in most of the jobs he likely took.
He was basically a “Mr. Fix it”. You had something that needed mended/fixed, designed, or built and he was the guy to call. And note, this isn’t just referring to small jobs such as repairing a leaky roof or the like, though this type of thing would have likely been a part of what he did when bigger business was slow; it also refers to such things as designing and building bridges, stone temples, etc. So perhaps by today’s notion of the profession, he’d more likely be called an “engineer”.
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He was Macgyver…..anyone who could do all the clever stuff he did must have been.
skeev,
Are you mocking GOD & His Christ?
Lol, there’s no such thing as a god!
@Jeff Johnson: Prove it 😉
closer to the guys who stand outside home depot waiting for work.
Thats actually how I always pictured his carpenter job.
Joseph was a teacher and his son became thee teacher!
Except his fight would be a beat down and not a boring decision.
Worst topic ever! Who really cares. It’s not going to take you to heaven or cast you into hell for not knowing or knowing.
@Anthony, Wow, good thing I came to http://www.ThingsAnthonyCaresAbout.com instead of Today I found out…. Here’s an idea, if you don’t like the idea of a website about random stuff that was “found out” today, you COULD just go fuck yourself instead and save us all from your stupid posts. Just a suggestion.
An engineer? Aha! That explains why he didn’t have a girlfriend.
@Pablo: I so should have used that in the title of the post ;-). “Today I Found Out Why Jesus Never Had a Girlfriend”
Yes, Bill Darlison has written about this, and suggests the translation mason or architect. (Bill Darlison is also the author of an interesting book suggesting that the gospels were in fact the texts of an astrological mystery religion and that Jesus was a mythical character.)
I hear stories from the chamber
How Christ was born into a manger
And like some ragged stranger
Died upon the cross
And might I say it seems so fitting in its way
He was a carpenter by trade
Or at least that’s what I’m told
OK make fun of Jesus on the cross – no one is likely to kill you.
Now be brave and even-handed and do Muhammad – perhaps with Ayesha?
@A.Kinana: haha, don’t think I haven’t thought of it. 🙂 There will likely be a Muhammad post sometime in the next few months. I just have to find something interesting and little known to do it on.
you might look at the evidence that Mohammed was a Jew
or the fact that Uthmann – a person who opposed him in life – edited the quran after he died, and ordered all older copies rounded up and burned. which would explain why it seems to be written by a bipolar person
Teknons were indeed engineers or architects. Joseph designed houses, not furniture. His family must have had a lot of money.
DO NOT MAKE FUN OF JESUS
i don’t recall anyone ever saying he was a carpenter, joseph was the carpenter his “father” by technicality though he had no part in it apparently. what bible did you read? sorry did you read any of it? don’t get me wrong i think its all just a cute story, but man. know what your talking about at least. i don’t know anything about muhammed (don’t even know if thats how you spell it/him/her/turqois). he’s as likely to exist as jesus.
@A.Kinana
there is loads of negative content regarding Muhammad on the internet. Generally no one cares unless & unit the media or some ignorant mullah’s or government official in the middle east stir things up divert attention from something else that’s going on.
In any case not sure how making fun these tribes men from 2k to 1500 yrs ago helps humanity today? Not to take anything away from their accomplishments i.e. having 30+% & 25+% of the worlds population following the laws inspired by you is impressive.
just repent from your sins.. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.. that’s all matter most!
Life is short..Death is sure…Hell is real but Jesus is the cure.. John 3:16, John 1:12, 1 John 5:11-13
kiks: Wrong. Now that the Christ has returned, “Everyone is judged according(74) to their actions.”
The Greek is TEKTOVOC (with some funky letters) which actually means “an artificer, specially a craftsman in wood”.
So no, it’s likely that he was a carpenter.
Thomas: It Ain’t Necessarily So. Jesus’ father Joseph was a ‘tekton’ (Greek): an artisan, mason, carpenter, teacher. Jesus’ disciples called him “rabbi” which is Hebrew for teacher.
Have you read the “7 Seals” (Rev 5:1) revealed as ‘beyond Einstein theories’? Google that.
One of the correct translations of “tecton”/“tekton” is teacher. “Rabbi” means teacher.
Jesus’ father Joseph was a teacher and he taught his son how to read and write in Hebrew and perhaps Greek and Latin.
Google: “7 Seals” revealed as ‘beyond Einstein theories’
A tecton is someone who works with his hands. It is a low level worker, not a professional like an engineer. Jesus, if tecton is accurate, would not be viewed as an engineer, but as a handyman or day laborer–for odd jobs–in today’s parlance. Engineer is way off.
juses was really a carpenter, because the bible says at book of ( mark 6:3 is not this the carpenter, the son of mary, the brother of james, and joses, and of judas, and Simon?) so this is a prove.
@Lucky: But it wasn’t written in English originally. 😉 As it says in the article, “However, the chosen translation from the Greek word “tecton” to mean “carpenter” is a bit of a mistranslation. In fact, “tecton” (in Mark) or “tekton” (in Mathew) is more aptly translated into a word describing a “contractor”; specifically, contracting as a “builder” or “handyman”. Not necessarily having anything to do with wood in most of the jobs he likely took.”
Daven Hiskey: Jesus’ father Joseph was a ‘tekton’ (Greek): an artisan, mason, carpenter, teacher. Jesus’ disciples called him “rabbi” which is Hebrew for teacher.
Have you read the “7 Seals” (Rev 5:1) revealed as ‘beyond Einstein theories’? Google that.
First off, Carpenters aren’t limited to working with wood. Carpenters build with wood, concrete, metal, glass, even plastic and styrofoam. Examples: framing with metal studs, installing windows (making glass is a glazer), hanging metal doors, shingling a roof, building scaffolding, and the list goes on. Even drywall hangers are part of the carpenter’s union. Second, 2,000 years ago there wasn’t electricity or indoor plumbing. I don’t even know if blacksmithing was around. So there weren’t all the different building trades there are today. The only building trade I know of older than carpentry is masonry. That’s what the original carpenters were, the guys who fix and build. It’s not like there were automobiles or steam engines that required a mechanic. There were boats and ships that were built and fixed by carpenters. I think Daven needs a little more education.
Daven needs more education, but you weren’t sure if blacksmithing was around 2000 years ago? How do you think swords and shields for the Roman army that destroyed most of the civilizations of the time were created? Tubal-Cain is mentioned in the 4th chapter of Genesis as a “forger of all instruments of bronze and iron” and he predates Jesus by. . .well, let’s just call it “a long time”. Even if you don’t believe the Bible to be true, there is some historical value to the things mentioned in it. I’m not sure Daven is the individual that needs a little more education…you might want to check the mirror for that.
Anthony: Wrong. In Jesus’ time ‘carpenters’ meant working with wood. How many trees were there in Galilee for anybody to work with?
Jesus’ father Joseph was a ‘tekton’ (Greek): an artisan, mason, carpenter, teacher. Jesus’ disciples called him “rabbi” which is Hebrew for teacher.
Have you read the “7 Seals” (Rev 5:1) revealed as ‘beyond Einstein theories’? Google that.
Just a p.s. to my first comment,… Why are you basing this on the translation of a Greek word? I’m no expert on the bible but wouldn’t it origanally written in hebrew? Is your post based on the the English tranlation of a Greek translation of a biblical time Hebrew word?
Anthony: The ‘Old Testament’ was originally written in Hebrew and alittle in Aramaic. The ‘New Testament’ was originally written in Greek and then tanslated into Latin. Some claim that the original language of the Christian scriptures was Aramaic, but we have no proof of that. There were no Christian scriptures in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
No — Aramaic, would have been the language spoken. Hebrew was the ancient language of the Talmud, but not the spoken language. The written language was Greek.
Paul: And Latin was the language of the Roman occupiers of Judea and Galilee. On the placard above the Cross, “Jesus the Nazarean the King of the Judeans was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.” – John 19:19-20. It’s safe to assume that Y’shua bar Yosef had been taught to read and write in Hebrew & Aramaic, Greek and Latin. He was probably liteate in Egyptian and other languages as well.
Y’shua was quite the intellectual. Muhammad was illiterate.
It’s all made up bullshit for the weak minded and gullible. Easier to believe in fantasy than reality. Also makes justifying hate easier by following said made up bullshit.
Its the Truth that’s survived ages beyond ages. Even myself, a former atheist was able to see this Truth. From a scientific standpoint, the bible cannot be disproved, or otherwise it would have been long ago. So your claim that this is made up – this antithesis – is actually a belief that you carry yourself, that the bible is false. which also cannot be proven scientifically.
LOL you’re so fucking stupid and you have absolutely no idea. You believe something with no basis in reality and if you were an atheist before, you didn’t come to that conclusion. I did after years of religious BS being shoved down my throat. You just didn’t believe anything before. Perfect bait for indoctrination. Truth must be provable or at least have evidence to support it. Religion has none. You’re just another impressionable person with no ability to think for yourself and come to your own conclusions.
Sounds like you need some prayers. Btw, you can’t prove anything either. At least my belief is called faith.
Tekton means Mason (as in stone mason), not Contractor.
Rev. Christopher: Jesus’ father Joseph was a ‘tekton’ (Greek): an artisan, mason, carpenter, teacher. Jesus’ disciples called him “rabbi” which is Hebrew for teacher.
Have you read the “7 Seals” (Rev 5:1) revealed as ‘beyond Einstein theories’ – google that.
Jesus’ father Joseph was a ‘tekton’ (Greek): an artisan, mason, carpenter, teacher. Jesus’ disciples called him “rabbi” which is Hebrew for teacher.
Houses in that area – even now- were never made of wood. They were made of stone. There were massive building projects going on by the Romans. They needed builders (ie. engineers). The Greek NT is most likely a translation of the Aramaic – where the word is not “carpenter” but “artisan; a very learned scholar”. He was an incredibly technical and intelligent person. Combine that with the little known fact (and actively suppressed knowledge) that they built with engineered stone – literally they created their own rock in the shapes they needed. The foundations of the “temple” in Jerusalem are impossible to have been dragged there and lifted into place. They have mold lines and depressions to this day. There’s been a lot of lost knowledge in the past 2000 years.