Carpentry in Nazareth Village

After Jesus, my favorite Jewish carpenter would have to be Norm Abram. (I love woodworking.) That’s why my highlight today in the Nazareth Biblical Village was the carpenter shop.

I could not imagine making furniture without my table saw, router, and orbital sander. And yet, the carpenters of first-century Galilee used a variety of ingenious hand tools to produce everything from practical implements to heirloom pieces. Jesus likely would have toiled over a crude workbench. The visit gave new meaning to the term wood-WORKING.

Based on considerable research, the village is designed to portray first-century agriculture, clothing, foods, and building techniques. We entered a life-sized synagogue and discovered how it remained cool in the heat of summer. A huge millstone showed how a donkey would have circled to crush the wheat. A wall-sized loom allowed a woman in period dress to describe how multicolored fabrics were woven. Terraced walkways and smooth paths made it easy for all ages to explore.

What a great way to take a peek at century-one Nazareth.

Wayne Stiles, Bible Teacher for Emerald Bus 2

Read a devotional about today’s sites.