Carpenter

Concept

Carpenter in the Old Testament (Hebrew charash) denotes a craftsman who worked not only in wood but also in stone, iron, and copper — the term broadly covering all who worked with tools to shape hard materials. David employed Phoenician carpenters, brought from Tyre, in building his palace (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Chronicles 14:1). The tools of the carpenter included the hammer, chisel, saw, and line (Isaiah 44:13; 1 Samuel 13:19–20; Isaiah 10:15). Scripture's most significant carpenter reference concerns Jesus of Nazareth: the people of his hometown asked, "Is not this the carpenter?" (Mark 6:3), and elsewhere, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55), connecting Jesus to the trade of Joseph. The New Testament identification of Jesus as a carpenter has been a subject of theological reflection on the incarnation and the dignity of manual labor.