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Carpentry in Nazareth Village

Inspiration Travel

2 MIN READ

03/08/2012

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.