Q&A

Do we have any reason, apart from tradition, to believe Jesus took up Joseph's trade of carpentry?

Raphael Benedict December 21, 2015Last Updated: December 21, 2015

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Where did the idea come from that Jesus was a carpenter? My Bible says this was Joseph’s profession and that Jesus was regarded as “the carpenter’s son” (Mt 13:55). Do we have any reason, apart from tradition, to believe Jesus took up Joseph’s trade?

Answer

Yes. The Bible says so. In Mark 6:3, the people of Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, astonished by the way he spoke with authority, ask, “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” Jesus is spoken of here as “the carpenter,” rather than as the “the carpenter’s son,” as in the passage you cited.