(CP) – A stone and mortar building under a convent in Nazareth, Israel, may have been Jesus’ home while under Joseph’s tutelage, according to a British associate professor of archaeology. “Five years of intensive research on the fieldwork data has consolidated the evidence for the first-century house,” Ken Dark of the University of Reading said to MailOnline.
The residence, found in the 1880s as nuns from the Sisters of Nazareth Convent stumbled upon its cistern, was constructed with professionalism commensurate with the Greek word used in Matthew 13:55 for Joseph’s occupation, Dark said. A tektón is a craftsman who works with wood, an expert in carpentry but having other skills as well. He thinks Christ’s human father likely built the entire residence due to such ability.
The house the scholar has excavated since 2006 had a living room, storage area and courtyard as well as a second story for entertaining. “The stairway was constructed skillfully using part of a natural cave, and another part of the cave was used to support the ceiling of the room,” Dark said.
Other notable, preserved original elements include a doorway and chalk floor, both of great craftsmanship. Digs there have turned up artifacts such as kitchenware and a spindle.The Bible says in Luke 3:4, “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.” READ MORE
