Coming to his hometown, [Jesus] began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
Matthew 13:54-56
Jesus’ father, Joseph, was described as a carpenter. Fathers usually passed down their trade to their sons, so it is very likely that Jesus learned the trade from his father. Being a rabbi at that time wasn’t a paid position. Rabbis often worked to support themselves. For example, the Apostle Paul made tents (see Acts 18:3) to support himself.
The translation “carpenter” to describe Joseph and Jesus, however, isn’t the most accurate. The Greek word is tekton, which could better be translated craftsman. In other words, someone who uses local building materials to construct things. Journeying around Israel, one realizes that they do not build out of wood like we do here. Rather buildings are (and were) made primarily out of stone. Wooden beams were used in certain places, but stone is by far the most prevalent.
While studying in Israel, I was told that the French translation of tekton means “structural engineer”. This shed a bit different light on Jesus for me. I’m a software engineer by trade. Although I work in a virtual world, manipulating bits on computers rather than organizing physical objects, the principles of engineering carry over in a loose way. I love to create, which is what drew me to my career.
The Bible opens with God creating the world, separating light and darkness, water and land. He organized and filled the space. Maybe part of what it means to be made in the image of God carries the idea of creativity. Do you enjoy creating anything? Programming? Art? Music? Writing? Building? God is the one who gave you that skill.
There’s an ordinance that all new buildings need to use “Jerusalem stone” for a consistent look.