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Bible Dictionaries
Trades
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or TRADES.—It had long been a custom, which almost had the force of law, among the Jews, that every youth, of whatever station, must have a trade. The Rabbis insisted upon it. Of the distinguished teachers in the days of Herod the Great [Note: reat Cranmer’s ‘Great’ Bible 1539.] , Hillel and Shammai learned and wrought the trade of mechanics. So with Gamaliel, a contemporary of our Lord. It was quite usual, though by no means universal, for a son to follow the trade of his father, as Jesus did that of Joseph, who was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3). Tradition says Jesus made ploughs, ox-yokes, chairs, and the like. The most common trades of Christ’s day were those of the smith, the carpenter, the stone-mason, the baker, the tanner, the sandal-maker, the weaver, the spinner, the wool-comber, the tailor, the tentmaker, the potter, the perfumer, the jeweller, the fuller. These occupations are seldom directly mentioned in the Gospels, but the implements or wares connected with many of them are referred to, or are used as illustrations in parables of our Lord = ploughs and yokes, work of the carpenter, Luke 9:62, Matthew 11:29; of the mason, Luke 23:53, Matthew 21:42; of the weaver, Matthew 3:4, John 19:23; of the tailor, Mark 2:21; the fuller, Mark 9:3; of digging, Luke 16:3; of spinning, Matthew 6:28.
While mechanical labour was regarded with honour among the Jews, all the trades were not looked upon with equal respect. The tanner, probably because of the unclean nature of his work, the donkey-driver, the butcher, and the followers of a few other occupations, were more or less discredited. Sewing, weaving (John 19:23), spinning (Luke 12:27), grinding (Matthew 24:41), baking (Matthew 13:33), and the like, were largely occupations of women. The industry of catching and curing fish (see art. Fish) was a most important one, more particularly about the Sea of Galilee; Jesus called several of His disciples from this occupation, Matthew 4:18, Mark 16. See separate articles on several of the trades above mentioned.
E. B. Pollard.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Trades'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/t/trades.html. 1906-1918.
