Jobs for Men
There were lots of specialised jobs in bible times. Once your land was producing a good harvest and you were sure there would be enough food for your family, you could spend some time working at other jobs. Once you created enough pots or sandals or caught enough fish you could sell these and use the money to buy food at the markets instead of farming.
These are just some of the more common jobs men could have.
These are just some of the more common jobs men could have.
The Potter Being a potter was an important job. Potters would collect and dig clay from the ground and bring it to their work site. When it was needed, the clay would be wet and stepped on and squashed to make it into a thick mud perfect for shaping. Once shaped, either by hand or on a simple potter's wheel it was put into a kiln oven to dry out again and harden . It was then ready for sale. Pots, jugs, jars and lamps were easily broken and so there was always plenty of work for potters. Carpenter Shaping wood, when you have a few simple tools is not too hard. So many people would have made their own simple furniture. But for more complicated work, or if you were wealthy, you would hire a carpenter to do the job. Carpenters would make things like wooden wheels and carts, yokes and ploughs for farmers, boxes and furniture. Houses also had timber beams in their ceilings and timber lintels above doors and windows. Carpenters would have been able to shape these and help with putting them into buildings. The Tanner The job of a tanner would be to prepare and make items out of leather. Leather is the skin of dead animals, usually in bible times the skin of sheep or goats. The first task was to cut the skin from the animals and wash it clean. This was a very smelly and unpleasant job and would not have been popular. People would have looked down on tanners, as they believed that God's law said that people who touched dead bodies were "unclean" and could not pray in the temple. Once cleaned , the leather was made into belts, purses, tents, sandals and water/wine carriers. Very thin leather was sewn into long strips and used as scrolls. Leather was also used to make phylacteries - small leather boxes filled with copies of God's law, which people would tie to their arms and heads while praying. Because it was such a smelly job, tanners worked well outside of the towns. The Metal Worker Most areas would have had a metal worker nearby. Traveling merchants would sell the metal worker lumps of metal. He would than melt the metal in a very hot furnace. Once melted the metal was poured into moulds and allowed to cool. Now in the shape he wanted it the metal was smoothed with a hard stone and polished to look good. Metal workers would create tools, weapons and knives. Precious metals like Gold and Silver were made into bowls, mugs, plates and jewellery. The Builder Builders were employed to build homes for the wealthy as well as palaces and temples. The building materials used would depend on what was available nearby. In the stony areas, buildings were made of rocks piled on each other and then covered with plaster made from mud. In other places, bricks were made using mud and straw. They were dried out and used to build walls. These would then be also covered in mud plaster. Timber beams would be laid on the walls to create the roof which would be covered in branches and then a thick layer of mud. The mud plaster was easily damaged by bumps and heavy rain and needed lots of repairs. More elaborate buildings may have used large stones cut from quarries. Farming Most families had a small plot of land they used to grow their own food. This is one of the few jobs that would have been shared by men and women. Men doing the more physical jobs. Farming was a seasonal task. Winter: Sowing vegetables (chick-peas, onions, cucumbers....) Almond trees bloom Spring: Flax is harvested Wheat and barley are harvested Summer: Grape vines were ready to be pruned and grapes harvested. Some fruits are ready for picking Autumn: More fruit is ready for picking Olives are harvested Rainy season arrives and fields are ploughed Flax, wheat and barley are sown Repairing work If your plot of land was producing lots of food and you had stored all you could, the rest could be sold in the community market. The Priest A priest's job was to lead the people and help them to live as God would want. They would teach people about God's laws, lead special ceremonies to worship God and hold sacrifices and offerings to God. Not everyone could become a Priest. You had to belong to the family tribe of Levi, (one of the 12 original families of Israel) AND be a descendent of Moses' brother Aaron. The rest of the 'Levites' (not descendants of Aaron) became assistants in the temple. A high Priest was appointed to be in charge of all the Priests. |