JESUS WAS NOT A CARPENTER—HE WAS A BUILDER Most people were taught that Jesus was a carpenter who worked only with wood. That idea comes from a translation shortcut, not from the original meaning of the text. In the Greek gospels, the word used to describe Jesus is tekton. Tekton does not mean “wood carpenter.” It means builder, craftsman, or master artisan. A tekton worked with wood, stone, and metal—whatever was required to construct something durable and functional. In the ancient world, a te