Carpenter

An artificer in stone, iron, and copper, as well as in wood (2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Chr. 14:1; Mark 6:3). The tools used by carpenters are mentioned in 1 Sam. 13:19, 20; Judg. 4:21; Isa. 10:15; 44:13. It was said of our Lord, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matt. 13:55); also, “Is not this the carpenter?” (Mark 6:3). Every Jew, even the rabbis, learned some handicraft: Paul was a tentmaker. “In the cities the carpenters would be Greeks, and skilled workmen; the carpenter of a provincial village could only have held a very humble position, and secured a very moderate competence.”

[Handicraft]

CAR'PENTER . The first allusion to the carpenter's trade in the Scriptures occurs in the command to Noah to build the ark. Gen 6:14-16, and the directions here given presuppose quite a considerable skill. The second time the trade is mentioned is in the description of the setting up of the tabernacle in the wilderness, Ex 25:23; Ex 27:1-15, where various kinds of wood-work -the ark, the table, the altar, the acacia boards, etc. -are spoken of. From this point and throughout the holy writings frequent mention is made of this trade; and though it appears that both David, 2 Sam 5:11, and Solomon, 1 Kgs 5:6, employed foreign artisans, the numerous allusions, in the historical, prophetical, and poetical books of the O.T., to the tools, implements, and methods of this trade, show that the native craftsmen must have been possessed of great skill, and the trade itself held in high esteem among the people. Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a carpenter, Matt 13:55, and our L̲ord himself worked at the trade, Mark 6:3. "Is not this the carpenter's son?" yea, "Is not this the carpenter?" asked the people, not in contempt, but in wonder. They implied, however, that they regarded him as one of themselves, as no better than they. But we may be thankful that our Lord is thus called, for the very word "is full of meaning, and has exercised a very noble and blessed influence over the fortunes of mankind. It has tended to console and sanctify the estate of poverty, to ennoble the duty of labor, to elevate the entire conception of manhood as of a condition which in itself alone, and apart from every adventitious circumstance, has its own grandeur and dignity in the sight of God."נ-Farrar:Life of Christ, ch. vii.

CAR'PENTER . The first allusion to the carpenter's trade in the Scriptures occurs in the command to Noah to build the ark. Gen 6:14-16, and the directions here given presuppose quite a considerable skill. The second time the trade is mentioned is in the description of the setting up of the tabernacle in the wilderness, Ex 25:23; Ex 27:1-15, where various kinds of wood-work -the ark, the table, the altar, the acacia boards, etc. -are spoken of. From this point and throughout the holy writings frequent mention is made of this trade; and though it appears that both David, 2 Sam 5:11, and Solomon, 1 Kgs 5:6, employed foreign artisans, the numerous allusions, in the historical, prophetical, and poetical books of the O.T., to the tools, implements, and methods of this trade, show that the native craftsmen must have been possessed of great skill, and the trade itself held in high esteem among the people. Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a carpenter, Matt 13:55, and our L̲ord himself worked at the trade, Mark 6:3. "Is not this the carpenter's son?" yea, "Is not this the carpenter?" asked the people, not in contempt, but in wonder. They implied, however, that they regarded him as one of themselves, as no better than they. But we may be thankful that our Lord is thus called, for the very word "is full of meaning, and has exercised a very noble and blessed influence over the fortunes of mankind. It has tended to console and sanctify the estate of poverty, to ennoble the duty of labor, to elevate the entire conception of manhood as of a condition which in itself alone, and apart from every adventitious circumstance, has its own grandeur and dignity in the sight of God."נ-Farrar:Life of Christ, ch. vii.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

An artificer who works in timber; a framer and builder of houses, ships, etc.

Synonyms: Carpenter, Joiner. The carpenter frames and puts together roofs, partitions, floors, and other structural parts of a building. The joiner Supplies stairs, doors shutters, mantelpieces, cupboards, and other parts necessary to finishing the building. In America the two trades are commonly united. Carpenter ant (Zoöl.), any species of ant which gnaws galleries in the wood of trees and constructs its nests therein. They usually select dead or somewhat decayed wood. The common large American species is Formica Pennsylvanica. Carpenter bee (Zoöl.), a large hymenopterous insect of the genus Xylocopa;so called because it constructs its nest by gnawing long galleries in sound timber. The common American species is Xylocopa Virginica.