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Was Jesus a carpenter?

tonychanyt

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Mark 6:
3 Isn’t this the carpenter [tektōn]? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Wiki:

International Standard Version:
This is the builder, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn't it? His sisters are here with us, aren't they?" And they were offended by him.
This nuance puts deeper meaning in the following verses:

Mark 13:
2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

John 14:
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Matthew 16:
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 21:
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “’The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
 

The Righterzpen

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Yes, bit of a history class here:

Jesus was probably most likely a stone mason; seeing how most buildings were made out of stone because there wasn't a lot of wood around for the availability of making housing. Wood would have been reserved for things like boats or vessels that held water. Though Jesus probably had some building skills with wood too. As much "general contracting skills" one could attain would be the most useful to make one most employable. And we know Jesus was employable enough to be able to make a stable living. After all, he became responsible for taking care of his mother and siblings once Joseph died.

As far as Jesus being "ripped" -

Not likely (any more at least) at the point that he began preaching. Remember he spent 40 days in the wilderness not eating anything and nearly starved to death. Then he spent the next 3.5 years basically walking around Judea. So he was probably rather scrawny at that point; as he was no longer doing much manual labor.

Now we know too from archeological evidence found in 1st century graves that if Jesus fell within the statistical norms of the average 1st century Jew; he would have been between 4 foot 11 inches to 5 foot 3 inches and weighed between 110 and 130 lbs.

The average Roman soldier was 5 foot 6 inches and about 160 lbs. To actually get into the Roman army, you'd have to be about 5ft 5 inches or taller in our current measures.

Then when we get to the crucifixion; Simon of Cyrene had to carry the cross beam. Which was probably somewhere between 50 and 70 lbs. From the Antonia Fortress (currently where Dome of the Rock is) to Golgotha which would have been roughly a half hour walk out of the east gate, down some stairs, across the Red Heifer bridge to the top of the Mount of Olives. The Red Heifer alter would have been at the end of the bridge and Golgotha would have been somewhere in that area.

We can deduce this because the soldiers who were at the crucifixion site actually witnessed the veil being torn. (Matthew 27:54) And the only way they could have seen that is if they were facing the temple. Which means they were east of the temple facing west. The temple faced east and the only way one would be able to see inside of it is if they were close to the Red Heifer alter. Part of the cemetery (which would have been in front of and "under" them actually slid down the hill. Matter of fact, you can still see that today. There are houses at the bottom of the hill now; but above that you can still see open graves from the 1st century.

There are also several Gethsemane in the Mount of Olives. Gethsemane wasn't a "garden". A Gethsemane is a cave that houses an olive press. This is where they made the oil for the lamps in the temple.

The temple itself would have actually been on the south end of the Dome of the Rock. That structure is not actually the "temple mount". It's the remains of the Antonia Fortress. The Antonia Fortress was a military base that housed the 10th legion. A legion is about 5000 soldiers; but along with "support staff" to a stationary legion would have been about 8 to 10,000 people living in the Antonia Fortress. Josephus says that the only thing left standing in Jerusalem at the end of the siege in 70 AD was the Antonia Fortress.

The Antonia Fortress was one of the structures in Jerusalem that was rebuilt by Herod the Great and originally (back in the days of Maccabees was a Greek Gymnasium where they held athletic competitions. Now this was an issue for the Jews (being right next to the temple) because they were complaining that the priests were "distracted" because of the competitions. The real issue though was that the priests too were participating in these competitions and in that participating allegedly was the immoral behavior stated to have gone along with the atmosphere of the "olympics". From the Greek side of history; the "Maccabean revolt" was actually an internal Jewish civil war. (There's a little more to the story than just just civil war over Greek olympics; but that's a whole other rabbit hole; and one that's not "politically correct" to talk about.)

The steps at the south end of what they are calling "the temple mount" today were probably the steps Paul preached on (and subsequently got arrested.) That would have been the entrance to the Antonia Fortress from the temple side of the structure. It would have probably also been part of the "court of the gentiles".

On the other side of the wall that surrounded the temple was probably where the money changers were. The "court of the Sanhedrin" was over there too; but was damaged in an earthquake that happened in 29 AD. That earthquake and solar eclipse coincided with the commencement of the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar; which was the year John the Baptist began preaching in the wilderness. (Luke 3:1) The earthquake also caused the doors on the front of the temple not to close all the way. Thus the reason the soldiers at the crucifixion site would have been able to see into the temple.

Now what that would have shown was most likely that the Ark of the Covenant was not in the Holy of Holies. (Because the real "Ark of the Covenant" was over on the Mount of Olives being crucified!) The evidence from Scripture is that most likely the Ark of the Covenant disappeared during the Babylonian captivity. It's never mentioned again in Scripture after that and the Triumph that Titus held from the battle of Jerusalem did not contain the Ark of the Covenant. It is clear from the pillar of that Triumph parade that the things removed from the temple by the Roman army, did go to Rome. We know the Menorah was one of those items; because that's depicted on the pillar.

Inside the Antonia Fortress was the judgement hall called a "Praetorium". All Roman military establishments had one. It's like the "county court house". There was a "judgement seat" which was usually on the 2nd floor and the "audience" would stand on the "pavement" underneath the judgement hall. The "pavement" was outside. Adjacent to the "pavement" (probably on the west side) would have been the "common hall" which was where soldiers gathered for what we would call "morning quarters". Part of that facility of the "common hall" was a place where soldiers would have been flogged for various infractions of military protocol. And somewhere in the vicinity of that common hall / Praetorium and "the pavement" would have been a jail house of some sort.

Other buildings that would have been there would have included Pilate's administrative building. Behind the Praetorium would have been a temple to Mars; who was the Roman god of war. Mars was also the father of the Roman army. All military bases had a temple to Mars in them. This temple usually contained a life size or larger statue of a soldier. Sometimes Mars was fully clothed and sometimes he only had on a helmet and was holding a sphere.

The other thing that would be displayed in the Antonia Fortress was the colors of the legion. The 10th legion fought in many battles including the battle that made Augustus Caesar the supreme emperor of the Roman Empire. The opposing side was Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Their forces were defeated in a naval battle (Battle of Actium) King Herod the Great had been allied with Mark Antony and thus the Antonia Fortress was named after Mark Antony. Which is interesting, seeing how he was the one that lost the battle. Which the other irony is the 10th legion was one of the legions that defeated him; and the soldiers were there because it was kind of like a Roman army "retirement" community. The 10th legion had won it's accolades and was no longer in "active combat service". And that's why they were divided up between Jerusalem and Caesarea.

Now what's called "the foundation stone" which is a natural outcropping under the floor of the Dome of the Rock was originally the "judgement stone" in the Praetorium. It's in the middle of the "platform" which is the "parade ground" of the Antonia Fortress. The "judgement stone" is where the accused stood for trial; which would have been where Jesus stood before Pilate. It is the highest spot on Mt Moriah.

Now Mt. Moriah is where Abraham took Issac for the sacrifice and it says "they saw the place of sacrifice in the distance". Which is most likely a reference to Golgotha. Thus the place where Abraham and Issac had their sacrifice test; would have been the same place Jesus was crucified. He was the "ram" caught in the thicket; who served as a replacement for Issac.

So there you go; there's your history lesson for today!