Jewish Artisan Life in the Time of Jesus, according to the Oldest Sources
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Beginning with the condition of Palestine under the government of the Herodians, the author evaluates Jesus as an artisan, one who is skilled in working with his hands. He sheds new light on the people with whom Jesus interacted and the country in which he dwelled. The book makes the argument that the life of Jesus must not be romanticized; rather, we must understand him in the context of his time on earth and the artisan environment in which he found himself. The temple was an example of the great artistry of that time, which explains the shocked reactions when Jesus said he would “destroy this temple.” The author also explores views about labor and craftsmanship during the time of Jesus. Many artisans during this time were also learned men, with many rabbis being shoemakers or sandalmakers, as they were not paid to be teachers. For example, the apostle Paul himself was a tentmaker by trade despite being educated by Gamaliel. In the Gospels, Jesus is repeatedly spoken of as the carpenter or the carpenter’s son. The author concludes, “It was by no accident that he was born not in the house of a smith, who forges the death-dealing weapons of war, but in the house of a carpenter, where he who came to bring peace to the world and to hallow the beginning and end of human life, had to work in fashioning both the rockers of the cradle and planks of the coffin, and the peaceful instruments of husbandry and family life.” Artisanship has honor because the Saviour of the world sprang from an artisan’s house.
- Title: Jewish Artisan Life in the Time of Jesus, according to the Oldest Sources
- Author: Franz Delitzsch
- Edition: Third Revised Edition
- Series: Standard Library
- Publisher: Funk & Wagnalls
- Print Publication Date: 1883
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Jews › Social life and customs; Working class Jews
- Resource ID: LLS:JWSHRTSNLFTMJSS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2020-08-24T05:50:35Z
Franz Delitzsch (1813–March 4, 1890) was a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. Born in Leipzig, he held the professorship of theology at the University of Rostock from 1846 to 1850, at the University of Erlangen until 1867, and after that at the University of Leipzig until his death. He wrote A Commentary on Hebrews and A New Commentary on Genesis.