04-02-2017, 11:21 PM
ThirdwoeMatthew 13:55 "Wasn’t this the son of the carpenter,...."
ܢܓܪܐ in the general sense refers to a "craftsman", and can refer to several different crafts depending on context (e.g., carpentry, stonemasonry, metalwork). “Carpenter” is a fine translation IF tradition backs it up. But is there any tradition for Joseph being a wood carpenter? I did find Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho LXXXVIII, claiming that Yahshua "… was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making plows and yokes."). But the gospel itself does not provide the necessary context for the word ܢܓܪܐ (“craftsman”) to become "carpenter". Personally, I would translate the word as ‘craftsman’ generally, rather than take the risk of being wrong.
Indeed, the region of Nazareth was not forested. It is reported that Nazareth and surrounding populated areas were primarily constructed of stone, especially because of Roman building projects that were entirely stone. For Joseph to earn a daily wage, it helps to know there were apparently more stonemason jobs (a common job, rather than a glamorous or well paid one) at the time compared to wood carpenter jobs (a less common job and a more esteemed one). Recall that Mary’s turtle dove offering in Luke 2:24 indicated Joseph had limited means. According to Jewish traditions, a person's offering must reflect their ordinary means ('standard of living'), which is why we read these two rules applied (later) in the Talmud: (1) a high-income person could not offer a lesser sacrifice than his normal means afforded, and (2) a low-income person could not offer a greater sacrifice than his normal means afforded.
Anyway, I think the message here is that Yahshua came from a simple, humble family. Indeed, Nazareth was not esteemed in its time (see e.g., John 1:46 “can anything good come out of Nazareth?”).
Lastly, given that one of the Aramaic/Hebrew meanings of the name ܝܫܘܥ is “Yah’s rock”, the context would suggest that Joseph was a stonemason – I mean to say, the fact that Yahshua’s body was the real temple, and that His body was not stone, gives further meaning to the fact that Joseph was not Yahshua’s real dad, but rather Joseph was only symbolically his dad on earth for a time, just like the stone temple in Jerusalem was only symbolic for Yahshua.
Ultimately the word ܢܓܪܐ has many meanings. You can see this in Jastrow for example (p. 876) where the translation “master” comes from later Jewish texts, which was explained by scholar Geza Vermes. I found this summary online:
Some people take the later translation “master” to imply that Joseph was perhaps some sort of scholar or master of secrets? But that theory doesn’t hold water – it’s just speculation, and there is neither biblical context nor tradition to support it.
What we do know is that Joseph was an “upright” man. Matthew 1:19. That’s really the key thing we need to know for why Alha chose Joseph for his important role as a guardian.
And we also know that Yahshua accomplished a building project even greater than earthly carpentry, "There are many rooms in my Father's house, and if not, I would have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you."
ܢܓܪܐ in the general sense refers to a "craftsman", and can refer to several different crafts depending on context (e.g., carpentry, stonemasonry, metalwork). “Carpenter” is a fine translation IF tradition backs it up. But is there any tradition for Joseph being a wood carpenter? I did find Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho LXXXVIII, claiming that Yahshua "… was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making plows and yokes."). But the gospel itself does not provide the necessary context for the word ܢܓܪܐ (“craftsman”) to become "carpenter". Personally, I would translate the word as ‘craftsman’ generally, rather than take the risk of being wrong.
Indeed, the region of Nazareth was not forested. It is reported that Nazareth and surrounding populated areas were primarily constructed of stone, especially because of Roman building projects that were entirely stone. For Joseph to earn a daily wage, it helps to know there were apparently more stonemason jobs (a common job, rather than a glamorous or well paid one) at the time compared to wood carpenter jobs (a less common job and a more esteemed one). Recall that Mary’s turtle dove offering in Luke 2:24 indicated Joseph had limited means. According to Jewish traditions, a person's offering must reflect their ordinary means ('standard of living'), which is why we read these two rules applied (later) in the Talmud: (1) a high-income person could not offer a lesser sacrifice than his normal means afforded, and (2) a low-income person could not offer a greater sacrifice than his normal means afforded.
Anyway, I think the message here is that Yahshua came from a simple, humble family. Indeed, Nazareth was not esteemed in its time (see e.g., John 1:46 “can anything good come out of Nazareth?”).
Lastly, given that one of the Aramaic/Hebrew meanings of the name ܝܫܘܥ is “Yah’s rock”, the context would suggest that Joseph was a stonemason – I mean to say, the fact that Yahshua’s body was the real temple, and that His body was not stone, gives further meaning to the fact that Joseph was not Yahshua’s real dad, but rather Joseph was only symbolically his dad on earth for a time, just like the stone temple in Jerusalem was only symbolic for Yahshua.
Ultimately the word ܢܓܪܐ has many meanings. You can see this in Jastrow for example (p. 876) where the translation “master” comes from later Jewish texts, which was explained by scholar Geza Vermes. I found this summary online:
Quote:Jewish scholar Geza Vermes notes that later Talmudic texts use the word for "carpenter" or "craftsman" - naggar - as a synonym for "teacher, scholar, learned man", for example:
"This is something no carpenter, son of carpenters, can explain" (Yebamoth 9b, Kiddishin 66a)
"There is no carpenter, nor a carpenter's son, to explain it" ('Abodah Zarah 50b)
Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew, (1973) pp. 21-22.
Some people take the later translation “master” to imply that Joseph was perhaps some sort of scholar or master of secrets? But that theory doesn’t hold water – it’s just speculation, and there is neither biblical context nor tradition to support it.
What we do know is that Joseph was an “upright” man. Matthew 1:19. That’s really the key thing we need to know for why Alha chose Joseph for his important role as a guardian.
And we also know that Yahshua accomplished a building project even greater than earthly carpentry, "There are many rooms in my Father's house, and if not, I would have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you."