Jobs and the Economy in Bible Times: Part 2

Skilled labor was essential to ancient Israel during Bible times. This episode of Bible Backdrop delves into 4 different types of skilled laborers and what they provided to the economy and society. We look at carpenters, stone workers, metal workers, potters and tent makers. Each one provided a necessary service for both the community and the nation.

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Transcript

The stone worker gazed at the half-finished structure before him. It’s really coming together, he thought. The huge stones from the quarry fitted perfectly together; the wood beams set in just the right place; and the metalworkers hammering away at the different items that will grace the inside of the building. When it was finished. 

His attention was quickly diverted by a noise that was common enough. Men grunting and working to bring up another large piece of stone from the quarry. While not skilled, these men were necessary and the worker was thankful for them. Without them, he wouldn’t be able to do his work of fashioning the rough stone and making it usable for the wall of the building.

When the men set the hewn stone in place, the stone worker thanked them as they moved to get some water before returning to the quarry. He looked again at the building...the massive Temple commissioned by King Solomon. There was nothing like it in all Israel and he was getting to work on it; to use his skills for the building that would house the Ark of the Covenant. As he grabbed his tools and started working on the stone, he thought: There’s no place else I would rather be right now. 

Hello again and welcome to another episode of Bible Backdrop. We’re going to continue our series on daily life in Bible times with our second episode looking at jobs and the economy. Last episode we talked about agriculture, fishing and unskilled labor. Today we’re going to look at skilled labor and how they were necessary for a national economy.

The one skilled worker that everyone is familiar with from the Bible is that of carpenter or woodworker. This, of course, is the profession of Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph. In the Old Testament, as Israel settled into the Promised Land, carpenters were in high demand. With people no longer living in tents, houses had to be built. Archaeological evidence suggests that Israel had large forests with multiple types of trees available for building. The olive tree was ideal for carving and was used to make the cherubim in Solomon’s Temple. The holm oak, on the other hand, was sturdier and used to make farming equipment.

To start, trees had to be cut down...not an easy task with the limited tools available. Once done, a decision had to be made about whether to use the tree for boards or beams. If boards, the trunk sections had to be ripsawed, not an easy process since the boards had to be equal length and the tools were primitive. If the tree was to be used to make beams, then they would find a tree the approximate size of the beam necessary and use a tool known as an adze to shape it. An adze is a tool similar to an axe with an arched blade at right angles to the handle, used for cutting or shaping wood.

Most houses of this time were either stone or mud brick as lumber was costly since it had to be sawed by hand. However, the door and window frames, the doors themselves and the latticed windows all used wood and were fashioned by the carpenter. If the house had a second story, he would make the stairs out of stone or wood and put in some paneling. If it had wooden columns he would shape them but put them in a wide stone base. Rich people could afford wooden furniture in their homes such as beds, chairs, stools and tables. 

Besides furniture, the craftsman would also make farming implements. Yokes, plows, ox goads, pitchforks, shovels were all tools that he would make for the community. Since this was mostly an agricultural economy, these skills were probably in pretty high demand.

Another focus on woodworking was in the making the wooden parts of weapons. Bow and arrows, shafts for spears, javelins and maces. They also constructed the catapult and beam for the battering ram along with the assault tower and other siege engines.

Woodworkers also had small jobs like making locks and keys, stocks and gibbets as prison equipment, and the beams for scales and balances. Finally, some craftsmen used their skills to make idols.

Next on the list is quarrying and stone working. Like the story earlier describes, the Temple and other public buildings were made chiefly of stone. Limestone was the most common in Israel with sandstone and basalt also being available in different regions. Marble may also have been available.

Quarrying for stone was it’s own profession. The best stone went to the Temple in Jerusalem. In fact, there’s evidence of a great underground quarry beneath the Old City and it may have been from here that the stones for Solomon’s Temple were cut. The transport of this stone would have been done by men or beasts of burden, both pulling them on wooden rollers.

Once the stone was quarried, the stone worker would measure and chisel to make sure the stones fit together properly. However, they weren’t just used in large building projects. Stone workers also made wine vats, olive presses and the weights used in them and the vats for dyes used by people making clothes. In the wedding at Cana, the water pots used for ceremonial cleansing that Jesus uses to turn the water into wine are made out of stone. These required a careful hand and could be painted to add an artistic touch. They also made tombstones and memorial pillars such as the one for Absalom in 2 Samuel 18:18. Other items from the stone workers were mortar and pestles, sling shot stones, and weights used on scales.

Besides stone, metal was also mined and metal workers were needed to smelt the ore and fashion the metal for whatever it’s purpose. Smelting is the process of extracting the metal from its ore by heating and melting. Once extracted, there was additional chemical and heating required to remove the impurities. Then the ore would be poured into ingots of various shapes and sizes, then refined again.

In the episode on the Philistines, we talked about how they were expert iron workers and prevented the Israelites from having blacksmiths. Iron working was different and more complicated than working in other metals, but it’s availability was important in making tools and weapons.

When the metal was ready, the worker would fashion the ingots into tools, weapons, jewelry or anything else that was in demand. While tools were needed, most of the metal was turned into military equipment. While the woodworkers made the arrow shafts, bows and spears, the metal workers made the arrow heads, spear heads and swords. Along with the offensive weapons, they also made the shields, greaves and helmets. 

Among metal workers, jewelers were highly prized as they worked gold and silver into something that multiplied it’s value. Jewelry wasn’t made just looks, but as a method of transporting wealth and precious stones. While there are no gold or silver mines, Israel had excellent gold and silver smiths. 

Next up is pottery making. Normally, when we think of pottery, we think of clay pots or bowls. While this is part of it, pottery is also used by metal workers as their crucibles, smelting furnaces and molds. Pottery was one of the first trades to use assembly line techniques since it has several phases of work. The clay had to be dug, weathered, and treaded before use. Most of the objects were made on the potter’s wheel but some were shaped by hand and other pieces were made in a press mold. Heating the final product took special skills and patience.

As I said earlier, pottery was common around the household. There were cooking pots, griddles, kettles, and mixing bowls along with large and small storage jars used for dry foods and liquids. For lighting, there were lamps and lampstands along with a brazier for keeping the house warm in winter. In building homes, potters could also be counted on to make sun dried bricks and roof tiles. Clay was also used in making stoves and ovens.

The final laborer I’m going to talk about is the tentmaker. The apostle Paul used his abilities in this industry to earn money during his missionary journeys. This was not a menial task requiring little skill. The tentmaker had to cut and stitch together leather and goat skins that would hold up to heavy use and hold out moisture. The stitching also had to be tight enough to be waterproof. Apprenticeships would last 2-3 years working from sunrise to sunset learning the craft. Once done, the apprentice was presented with his own set of tools. These were light and portable, so Paul could easily go from one place to another on his missionary journies.

I think this is a good place to stop for the moment. Next episode, I’m going to take a look at the military of Israel and how it was structured. After that, I think I’m going to start diving into the religion of Judaism. I’ll discuss the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the Temples, and some of the details associated with the rituals. In the meantime, if you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please leave a 5-star rating and review. Also, word of mouth is the best way for this podcast to grow, so tell a friend and have them subscribe. If you want to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!