The greek word translated “carpenter” used to describe Joseph in our Bible was a very broad term that could also be translated “building-tradesman.” It could describe someone who worked with wood, stone, plaster, or tin and could even be used to describe an unskilled building worker.
One common job a carpenter did was to make planks of wood for a roof. The carpenter had to first cut down trees for timber with an axe or primitive saw, then either saw down the length of the wood or shape the wood into suitable beams with a hand adze (an axe-like tool used primarily for shaping wood). (You can see some pictures of first century carpentry tools here. )
Carpenters also made smaller items for the home like doors, window lattices, stools, low tables, and chests. In Nazareth Joseph most likely supplied farmers with agricultural tools like yokes, ploughs, and shovels. But it’s unlikely he would have found enough work in Nazareth alone, and probably often traveled to nearby towns to work on building projects or sell his craftwork.
PRINTABLE: : This coloring page by Bible Printables features various trees that grew in Isreal. These are examples of the trees Joseph may have used for wood for his carpentry. PRINTABLE: : A coloring page of an Olive Tree, another tree that Joseph might have used wood from.
Nazareth Villiage is a recreation of Nazareth as it was 2,000 years ago, located just 500 yards from where some believe the town of Nazareth was at the time of Jesus. Thank you to James Emery and Ian Scott for the pictures below.
This is part of my series on 1st Century Nazareth. This page contains some affiliate links through which I can earn commission.
The picture to the right shows a woman spinning thread like a woman in 1st Century Isreal might have done. They would start by making yarn using a drop spindle, then might dye the yarn, and then weave it on a loom. All of these activities make great crafts, though some of them are not as easy for young children.
MAKING THREAD ON A DROP SPINDLE
I have not tried this out but it looks as if this is a craft which could be done with older children and teens, but might be too hard for younger children. A drop spindle can be made from a dowel and a door pull, wooden car wheel, or even a an old CD. There is a good video showing how to use a drop spindle here, and you can find some detailed written instructions here (though it looks like two different types of spindles were used, one with a weight at the bottom and another with a weight at the top). Making enough string for even the coaster sized weaving project below would probably be too time consuming for a typical VBS marketplace session or Sunday School class, but it looks like making enough for three strands for a braided bracelet might be possible.
DYEING
While it’s possible to dye with the same natural materials used in the first century, most methods require boiling and some considerable time. So, if you want to dye wool or cloth with large groups of children children commercial dyes may be preferable (though you can use grape juice or kool-aid). Solar dying is an another option that doesn't involve boiling water but can take a week or more of the jars sitting in the sun (though kids can take their jar home to leave in the sun...you just need a lot of jars).
Click on the links below to find out how to make various dyes which might have been used in first century Galilee:
Chicory and Walnut Dye
(Also has a Goldenrod Dye, which is Native to the Americas and wasn’t in Isreal at that time. But chicory and walnut were both available in Isreal).
WEAVING
Making coaster sized rugs or woven bracelets with cardboard looms is a craft children can do, and which many adults would enjoy as well. You can find a tutorial here or check out the video below. You can make the looms yourself from scrap pieces of cardboard, though if you are doing these with a large group it might be worth it to buy them (you can find a variety of sizes for sale here and some wide-notched varieties that work well for kids here). To make it easy for children to weave, you can glue popsicle sticks to the end of pre-cut pieces of yarn for them to use as a “needle” to pull the thread over and under the strings, or you can purchase plastic needles. Unfinished projects can be taken home, but make sure to first demonstrate what to do when finished (and possibly send home printed instructions). Another option is a straw loom which is sometimes easier for little hands.
The picture above is the weaving craft we did for VBS (in process of course...it often took kids more than the 20-30 minutes we had to finish this one, though some older kids did). We purchased notched cardboard looms from Dick Blick. As you can see, the kids pulled these a little tight (in one case EXTREMELY tight), so that's something to talk to kids about before you do this, and watch for so their weaving is of uniform size. We stuck balls of yarn the children had chosen to use next in the loom to save it for later. It can be helpful to pre-cut several small balls of yarn so kids can just grab them and go.
HOW TO WEAVE ON A CARDBOARD LOOM
This video covers all the basics. I will note that I've never done the step they show where you weave the loose ends on the side back through...usually I just cut those off, and sometimes I even end those in the middle of the row, and I've never had a problem with it. If I were to do that technique, I think I would try to end some of my rows on the other side so that both sides had a little extra thickness, not just the one side. But with kids, I think just having them cut it off is simpler.
HANGING LOOM (Group Project)
At our VBS we had a large hanging loom which kids could try out. It consisted of two poles of equal length, attached by thick twine (needs to be thick to hold the weight of both sticks and the finished project.)...the whole thing was hung on the tent. I wasn't the one who constructed it, and I wish I had paid a little more attention. While obviously it is tied at both ends, I remember she looped the twin over both sides first before tying and I think this was to make sure the length of the twine was even when tied.
We used mostly strips of old t-shirts to weave with, and a few plastic bags too (though I think for authenticity I might have left those out if doing this again, though they do make an interesting texture.).
Here's how the loom looked in our "marketplace shop."
(NOTE: This was originally an activitiy primarily for Nazareth VBS, but to my knowledge these grow throughout Galilee, or at least in the mountains of Galilee, so I changed it to Galilee for wider use).
"Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?"
Matthew 6: 29b - 30a
Planting something which grew in Galilee can be a fun activity to connect kids with Bible stories, especially since Jesus mentioned the plants that grew and were cultivated there so often in his parables and teachings. There are common garden plants you can find at most garden shops which are similar to varieties that grew wild in the Galilean hills (or which were cultivated in 1st century gardens). I’ve listed some below which have short germination times (which is important when planting with children, who can loose interest if a plant takes too long to sprout). The varieties which grew wild in Galilee then were, in many cases, a little different then the modern varieties grown in the US...but it's still a fun connection to make.
FLOWERS
Alyssum, (germinates 4-8 days) – type in Isreal is yellow
Aster (germinates 7 – 14 days)
Calendula/Pot Marigold (germinates 5-7 days) .
Pink Dianthus (germinates 5-7 days)
Morning Glory (germinates 7 – 14 days)
- NOTE: the seeds of morning glory are poisonous if eaten in large quantities.
Portulaca (one site said 6-10 day, another said 14 – 21 days)
Scabiosa/Pincusion Flower/Bachelor Button – (germinates 8 – 12 Days)
Snapdragons (germinates 7 – 12 days)
Viola (germinates 7 – 14 days)
FUN FACT: Calendula flower was used for medicine, and a dye can be made using it’s petals. The type which grows in Isreal looks more like a daisy and less like a mum (I’ve seen something similar sold in garden centers in the US).
Since
none of these vegetables grow well on a windowsill (except possibly
garlic or dill, though dill grows tall), you may want to check here to see when is the best time to plant in your area. Cantaloupe may be an issue with parents, since they take up a lot of garden space.
READ MORE:
FARMING TOOLS PRINTABLE: You can share this free coloring page from Bible Printables featuring farming tools from Bible times to teach children even more about farming.
THRESHER PRINTABLE. This coloring pages features a thresher used to thresh wheat in ancient times.
We used the Hometown Nazareth VBS program at our church, and I highly recommend it. While we decided to forgo the cartoonish decorations in favor of the more historical decor, the information, dialogues, and format of this program is exceptional! Our kids really responded to it.
This flyer I made contains useful pictures and tid-bits about life in Nazareth in the first century. This flyer is free for non-profit use. It contains a lot of the information found about Nazareth on this blog in printable form, including pictures. You are welcome to copy it and alter it as long as you keep the credits for pictures and info in tact.
This flyer has a list of items you might find in a Nazareth house, along with a photo collage. This flyer is free for non-profit use. It contains a lot of the information found about Nazareth on this blog in printable form, including pictures. You are welcome to copy it and alter it as long as you keep the credits for pictures (if you use those).
This site attempts to put the individual stories in the four Gospels in chronological order. Though I'm not sure if I agree entirely with their ordering (for instance, they split Jesus' trip to Nazareth where he was rejected into two separate visits, where it seems to me like these were describing a single event) I found this a valuable resource.
I found this answer to a question about the type of meal Jesus would have eaten extremely helpful. He not only laid out wonderfully the first century diet and eating habits, but related it to it's practical application in a 5th grade classroom.
Though this lens doesn't have anything specifically to do with 1st Century Palestine, some of the skills it describes (rope making, fire starting) were things that were part of daily life in all ancient cultures).
I've found Group's facebook page to be an invaluable resource for problem solving and getting ideas.
Holy Land VBS Un-official Facebook Page
An un-official place to discuss Holy Land Adventure VBS...full of great people with lots of wonderful advice. This is the best place to find "alternative" crafts and supplies and such.
They recycle pre-owned, gently used VBS and childrens ministry materials by making them available to churches nationwide. A great resource if you want to find materials for an older VBS program.
Eleazar's Stash
A service to lend manuals and director resources of past Group Holy Land Adventure VBS programs to churches with a low budget.
These fonts have ancient Hebrew letters, and are free to use. The Nabatean Font (1st c.) would have been the type Jesus would have used and read from most often.
Each site has different terms of use, and in some cases each graphic on the site does, so "free" is relative. Some are in the public domain (completely free to use for anything--though maybe not in all countries), some are Creative Commons (free, but maybe not for adaption or commercial use, depending on license, and usually require credit given), and some have other rules of use.
A collection of free biblical history graphics. Images may be used for personal, Church, or non-commercial use. Links should go to bible-history.com
Clip Art Etc.
A
clip art archive free for any non-commercial educational project. If
your VBS could be considered a "commercial" project then you can buy
licences for the clip art.
Clip art released by their authors into the public domain. You can find lots of great biblical images here, as well as other images. It's been down for maintenance for a while, but I leave the link in hopes it will be back soon.
ClipSafari
A site that basically is trying to duplicate the collection on Open Clip Art while it's down for maintenance.
Collection of graphics (and sound and video files too), most of which are either in the public domain or under open licensing allowing them to be freely used. Check the licenses on each image or file for specifics.
Photos and clip art released by their authors into the public domain. You can find
lots place images here (like pyramids in Egypt, the Jordan River, etc.)
The greek word translated “carpenter” used to describe Joseph in our Bible was a very broad term that could also be translated “building-tradesman.” It could describe someone who worked with wood, stone, plaster, or tin and could even be used to describe an unskilled building worker.
