I have compared Luke 2:22-24 with the Hebrew text that prescribes the sacrifice mentioned by Luke in his first-century Gospel--a sacrifice that was to be given by a person of humble means, if he/she could not afford to offer a lamb to Jehovah:
"When the mother has completed her time of cleansing, she must come to the front of the sacred tent and bring to the priest a year-old lamb as a sacrifice to please me and a dove or a pigeon as a sacrifice for sin. After the priest offers the sacrifices to me, the mother will become completely clean from her loss of blood, whether her child is a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she can offer two doves or two pigeons, one as a sacrifice to please me and the other as a sacrifice for sin" (Lev. 12:6-8 CEV).
Furthermore, I still wonder about the Greek TEKTWN and what the "typical" socio-economic status of a carpenter, builder or craftsman was in the first century CE, especially in Palestine. These questions are probably not easy to answer.
12 comments:
Vermes speculations about a "crafts man" still need to be addressed.
A number of responses have actually been crafted for Vermes' unlikely speculations. See https://books.google.com/books?id=GZOtAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=vermes+craftsman&source=bl&ots=MI5c_eLNXU&sig=3m7YgaWl0SaEFMIqirVOUjguXM8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinl_3x1sXRAhVDOSYKHRPCBJgQ6AEIQjAH#v=onepage&q=vermes%20craftsman&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?id=WJIJ0sVER_MC&pg=PT195&lpg=PT195&dq=vermes+craftsman&source=bl&ots=wTjvPfF1-S&sig=q2E3SL2NQDKeaVex07gZlkWFsdk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinl_3x1sXRAhVDOSYKHRPCBJgQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=vermes%20craftsman&f=false
The wikipedia article on tektwn is also somewhat informative on this issue.
The links you posted seem to indicate vermes idea as novel but I do not see how they are actually dismissing it.
ορθοτομουντα at 2 Tim 2:15 also may have some bearing.
It would be interesting to consider the linguistic background for 2 Tim. 2:15, and why that term was chosen.
Vermes' idea is being questioned because we lack evidence that the Greek word can have the meaning he proposes; additionally, he appears to be basing this suggestion on Talmudic literature, which hardly sheds light on first-century documents.
Words also have contexts or big picture meanings, as we've discussed before.
If we look at the bigger picture of the basic usage it can involve working with wood, clay or stones.
I don't have a problem with your comments. Eugene Boring ("Mark: A Commentary") describes tektwn as a generic term for anyone who builds, which might include one who works with metal, wood or stone. He believes that "construction worker" somewhat captures the sense of tektwn. The LXX also employs the term for blacksmiths, masons, and carpenters. See 2 Kings 12:11-12.
Yes, it becomes clear with Isaiah 44:12 LXX.
Or is it someone who uses tools?
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mQJgnEITPRIC&pg=PA271&lpg=PA271&dq=torah+defined+as+a+set+of+tools&source=bl&ots=XuHmPuyT0S&sig=2EHSt434wuC-JUlEpP4DpKhE17U&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi96vKcic7RAhWFDcAKHRvFABA4ChDoAQg_MAc#v=onepage&q=torah%20defined%20as%20a%20set%20of%20tools&f=false
I believe that tektwn places more emphasis on the person who builds rather than his/her use of tools. See also Isa. 41:7.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=te%2Fktwn&la=greek
3.a master in any art, Pind.; τ. νωδυνιᾶν, i. e. a physician, id=Pind.
See also http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/48/48-3/JETS_48-3_501-519.pdf
This article reviews many lexical sources.
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