Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 163:650 (Apr 2006)
Article: Periodical Reviews
Author: Robert D. Ibach, Jr.

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BSac 163:650 (April-June 2006) p. 234

Periodical Reviews

By The Faculty and Library Staff of Dallas Theological Seminary

Robert D. Ibach

“What Was Jesus’ Occupation?” Ken M. Campbell, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48 (September 2005): 501–19.

In Mark 6:3 Jesus is called “the carpenter,” although the Greek word τέκτων can be as general as craftsman, worker, or one who produces, and as specific as mason, carpenter, smith, or builder. The emphasis in modern translations on carpentry, or woodworking, is probably derived primarily from classical and Hellenistic literature. Campbell studies τέκτων in more appropriate contexts, namely, in Greek texts of the century before and after the New Testament, and in Josephus, Philo, and similar writings.

Three occurrences of τέκτων in Philo seem to refer specifically to carpentry. In The Antiquities of the Jews Josephus used τέκτων to refer to carpenters, and he employed other words for stonecutters and builders. But in his Jewish Wars, which is set in a period more nearly contemporary to Mark’s Gospel, he used τέκτων for workmen, masons, builders, and engineers. Campbell points out that all these occurrences in Jewish Wars refer to builders using earth and stone, not wood.

Campbell discusses חָרָשׁ, the Hebrew equivalent of τέκτων, which is found in Essene literature and in the Old Testament. This term is flexible, being used for masons, coppersmiths, carpenters, potters, weavers, and other tradesmen. Lexical evidence is also considered in the Jewish apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Mishnah, Midrash, and New Testament Apocrypha. He concludes that τέκτων does not mean carpenter, but rather a general craftsman, not in the sense of a hobby craft but of a builder who employs stone construction.

Much of Jesus’ public speech included references to farming, social interaction (hospitality, family, cooking, marriage, etc.), finance, and occupation. With regard to the latter Campbell provides a long list of various kinds of construction mentioned by Jesus, such as barns, towers, temples, rooftops, storerooms, ovens, tombs, fences, wells, and many more. Jesus also mentioned quarrying, selecting a cornerstone, and building on a bedrock foundation. With regard to woodworking, it is possible that Jesus would have made wooden plows, yokes, winnowing forks, doors, and axe handles.

While Europeans think primari...

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