An occupation or profession is the usual work or business in
which a person engages for the sake of earning a living. In biblical
times, family or social standing most often determined occupation.
This was particularly true for occupations tied to land, such as
planting crops and raising animals, since land in ancient Israel was
passed down within the tribe, normally from fathers to sons (Josh.
14:9; Ezek. 46:18). Sometimes daughters also received a share in the
family inheritance (Josh. 17:6). Most people gained their livelihood
from their family’s land, and those who did not have land hired
themselves out to work for wages (Deut. 24:14). A son normally
learned his trade from his father (Gen. 47:3; 2 Kings 4:18;
Matt. 4:21) and continued in that occupation unless called into God’s
service (1 Kings 19:19–21; Jer. 1:5; Matt. 4:22).
Cicero,
writing around the time of the NT, considered occupations such as tax
collector, laborer, and fisherman to be vulgar. Conversely,
professions such as teacher, doctor, and wholesale trader were more
honorable, with landowner being the most respectable and profitable
profession (Off. 1.42).
Agriculture
and Farming
Farming
is the earliest recorded occupation in the Bible, as the first man
was called to work and keep the garden (Gen. 2:15). Even after the
exile from Eden because of sin, Adam worked the ground for food, as
did Cain, his firstborn son (Gen. 3:17–18; 4:2). The opening
chapters of the Bible establish a fundamental link between “man”
(’adam) and the “ground” (’adamah). After the
flood, Noah established himself as a “man of the soil”
(’ish ha’adamah) by planting a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). King
Uzziah “loved the soil” (’oheb ’adamah) and
so employed people to work in his fields and vineyards (2 Chron.
26:10).
God
demonstrated his covenant commitment to Isaac by blessing him with an
incredible harvest (Gen. 26:12), and he promised to prosper Israel’s
farms if the people obeyed him (Deut. 28:4) and to curse the fruit of
their ground if they disobeyed (Deut. 28:18). The OT ideal was for
everyone to live “under their own vine and under their own fig
tree” (1 Kings 4:25; Mic. 4:4). According to Prov. 28:19,
the diligent farmer would have abundant food.
Jesus’
parables frequently employed agricultural imagery that would have
been readily understandable in first-century Palestine, where many
people were farmers (cf. Mark 4:1–9; 12:1–11) and some
owned land (Acts 4:34). The people living around Jerusalem at this
time engaged in agriculture, soil cultivation, and cattle raising
(Let. Aris. 107–112).
Herding
and Hunting
Herding
animals is the second-oldest occupation recorded in Scripture (after
farming), and raising flocks and herds continued to be one of the
most common and important professions throughout biblical times. Abel
is the first “keeper of sheep” in the Bible (Gen. 4:2
NRSV). Several generations later, Jabal pioneered the nomadic herding
lifestyle (Gen. 4:20). The patriarchs were shepherds (Gen. 47:3), as
were Moses (Exod. 3:1), David (1 Sam. 17:34), and many others in
the OT. Josephus acknowledged that “feeding of sheep was the
employment of our forefathers in the most ancient ages”
(Ag. Ap. 1.91). While men typically worked as shepherds and
herdsmen, the occupation was also open to women, such as Rachel,
whose fathers owned sheep (Gen. 29:9). Shepherds were present at
Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8–20), and Jesus’ teaching
suggests that shepherding was a common occupation in Palestine (cf.
Matt. 18:12; John 10:1–30).
Many
people in biblical times hunted, either for food, sport, or
protection. The first recorded hunter is Nimrod, “a mighty
hunter before the Lord” (Gen. 10:9). Ishmael was “an
expert with the bow” (Gen. 21:20 NRSV), while Esau was “a
skillful hunter, a man of the open country” who brought back
wild game for food (25:27–28). The name of Pokereth-Hazzebaim,
included in the genealogy of Solomon’s servants in Ezra 2:57,
reflects his occupation as a “gazelle catcher” (cf.
1 Kings 4:23).
Builders
and Craftsmen
Cain
was the first person in the Bible to build a city (Gen. 4:17), and
his descendant Tubal-Cain was the first metalworker (4:22). Nimrod
built a number of cities (10:11–12), and the beginning of
Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel (10:10), where the people gathered
together to build a city with brick (11:3). Builders in Mesopotamia
used baked brick and asphalt, while Israelite builders usually
preferred the more readily available stone and mortar. After Joseph’s
death, Israel was conscripted into forced labor in Egypt, which
involved building cities of brick and mortar (Exod. 1:11).
The
role of craftsmen in the construction of the tabernacle was
particularly significant. Bezalel and Oholiab were “skilled
workers and designers” empowered by God for work on the
tabernacle (Exod. 35:35). They engaged in “all kinds of
crafts,” including artistic metalworking, masonry, carpentry,
and weaving (Exod. 31:4–5; 38:23).
Kings
in Israel often commissioned important building projects (1 Kings
12:25; 15:22; 16:24; 2 Chron. 26:9; Josephus, J.W. 1.401–2).
Carpenters and stonemasons worked on David’s palace (2 Sam.
5:11). Solomon conscripted laborers to build the temple and also
employed carriers, stonecutters, craftsmen, and foremen to supervise
the work (1 Kings 5:13–18). After the Babylonian exile,
many Israelites were involved in rebuilding the temple and the wall
of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed (Ezra 3:8; Neh. 4:16–18).
These projects, directed by Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, utilized masons,
carpenters, and other workers (Ezra 3:7).
Jesus
is referred to as a tektōn (Mark 6:3) and as the son of a tektōn
(Matt. 13:55), with tektōn usually translated “carpenter”
by English versions. However,
recent scholarship
has demonstrated that Jesus was likely a builder, not a carpenter in
the modern sense of the term. In the LXX, the word tektōn
typically translates a Hebrew word, kharash, used broadly to refer to
craftsmen working with stone, wood, or metal.
Musicians
The
first musician recorded in Scripture is Jubal, “the father of
all who play the stringed instruments and pipes” (Gen. 4:21).
Musicians performed a variety of roles in ancient society, as they do
today. Singers and instrumentalists were employed to celebrate
festive occasions, often to provide accompaniment for dancing (Gen.
31:27; Luke 15:25), to soothe the sick or distressed (1 Sam.
16:16), and to express lamentation (Job 30:31).
Musicians
played an important role in leading God’s people in worship.
The “director of music” is mentioned in the headings of
fifty-five psalms and Hab. 3:19. The most famous musician in
Scripture is David, “the singer of Israel’s psalms”
(2 Sam. 23:1 GW), who played the harp (1 Sam. 16:18) and
wrote or inspired at least seventy-three canonical psalms. Solomon
was also a notable songwriter and lover of music (1 Kings 4:32).
David appointed many Levites as singers and musicians to lead Israel
in worship (1 Chron. 15:16; 23:5). The musicians played lyres,
harps, cymbals, and trumpets (2 Chron. 5:12).
Government,
Politics, and Military
Before
the monarchy, there were no formal government offices. Under Moses, a
group of seventy elders in Israel served as leaders and officials,
and these men were to carry out Moses’ decrees and judge the
people on most matters (Exod. 18:20–22; Num. 11:16). After
Joshua’s death, God raised up judges to rescue Israel from
foreign enemies and lead the people (Judg. 2:16) until the time of
Samuel, when Saul was made king (1 Sam. 11:15).
Kings
in Israel employed various officials. In 2 Sam. 8:16–18,
Joab is listed first among David’s officials, which suggests
that the military commander was second in authority after the king.
Under Solomon, the leader of the army is called “commander in
chief” (1 Kings 4:4). The royal cabinet included a number
of key advisers, including the recorder, the secretary, and the
“confidant” of the king (cf. 2 Sam. 16:16). The OT
does not specify the precise roles of these officials. The recorder
was among the highest governmental positions and served as a royal
counselor. In Hebrew, mazkir (“recorder”) is a cognate
noun to the verb zkr (“to remember”), which suggests that
this official may have managed and preserved public records (2 Kings
18:18; Isa. 36:22). The main task of the king’s secretary or
scribe (sop̱er)
was to write down (sapar) official state documents (2 Sam.
8:17), and he advised the king and also provided financial oversight
(2 Kings 12:10). Recorders and secretaries apparently were well
educated and multilingual, as was the palace administrator (2 Kings
18:18, 26). Solomon’s officials included supervisors of the
palace and the forced labor, as well as governors who supplied
provisions for the king’s household (1 Kings 4:6–7).
The OT mentions cupbearers in Israel’s government and in other
administrations (Gen. 40:1; 1 Kings 10:5; Neh. 1:11). The
cupbearer served as the royal wine taster; he protected the king from
being poisoned and had direct access to the monarch.
In
the Roman Empire, the emperor was absolute ruler (1 Pet. 2:17),
with the senate next in authority. Proconsuls held judicial and
military authority over larger provinces (Acts 18:12), prefects
(governors) administered smaller provinces (Matt. 27:2), with
tetrarchs over one-fourth of a province (Luke 3:1).
Christians
in NT times engaged in civil service. Erastus was a financial officer
in Corinth (Rom. 16:23), and he may be the same Erastus commemorated
in an inscription from this period who held the office of aedile. The
proconsul Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:7); Manaen, a close friend of Herod
Antipas (Acts 13:1); and members of Caesar’s household (Phil.
4:22) were also Christian public leaders.
Trade
and Economics
From
earliest times, people have exchanged goods and property. When
Abraham purchased Ephron’s field, his silver was measured
“according to the weight current among the merchants”
(Gen. 23:16), which suggests that a recognized system of public
trading was in place during the time of the patriarchs. Traders of
commodities such as spices traveled along caravan routes between
southern Arabia and Egypt, and these traders often acquired slaves
along the way (Gen. 37:28). Solomon employed royal merchants to buy
and sell goods (1 Kings 10:28).
In
the first century, Jews were engaged broadly in economic life as
landowners, artisans, merchants, traders, bankers, and slaves.
Several of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen (Matt. 4:18). Luke
was a physician, a well-educated and respectable professional (Col.
4:14). Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth (Acts 16:14). Paul, Aquila,
and Priscilla worked as tentmakers (Acts 18:3). In the Roman Empire,
commerce and pagan religion often intermingled. Merchants often
formed trade guilds, where membership sometimes required religious
and moral compromise. In Ephesus, silversmiths and craftsmen in
related trades turned significant profit through their connections
with the local Artemis cult (Acts 19:24–27).
Jesus
frequently spent time with tax collectors, such as Levi (also called
“Matthew”) (Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14). Tax collectors were a
despised group because often they became wealthy by taking advantage
of the Roman taxation system, which allowed them to charge commission
on taxes collected (Luke 19:2, 8). Jesus’ parable of the
talents references bankers who offered interest on deposits collected
(Matt. 25:27), and Rev. 3:17–18 alludes to the fact that
Laodicea was a financial center with a significant banking system.
Servants
and Slaves
In
the OT, ’ebed most often designates a slave or servant, whose
occupation involves work (’abad ) as a subordinate. Some
servants held very important positions in their master’s
household (Gen. 24:2), while many others toiled in hard labor (Job
7:2). Israelites were not to enslave their kinfolk, but they could
take slaves from other nations. Fellow Israelites who became poor
could serve as hired workers, but they were to be released along with
their children at the Jubilee because God had brought Israel out from
Egyptian slavery and they belonged to God as his servants (Lev.
25:39–46).
Slaves
in the Roman world were property like goods or cattle, possessed by
another (Dio Chrysostom, 2 Serv. lib. 24). Unlike modern slavery
practices, race played no factor in the Roman institution of slavery.
Slaves were kidnapped and sold in NT times (1 Tim. 1:10; Rev.
18:13), but the majority of slaves were so by birth. The most
prominent slave in the NT is Onesimus, for whom Paul intercedes with
his master, Philemon (Philem. 10, 16). Believing slaves were to obey
their earthly masters “as slaves of Christ” (Eph. 6:5–6),
but the NT stressed the equality of slave and free in Christ (Gal.
3:28). Paul called himself a “servant [doulos] of Christ Jesus”
(Rom. 1:1).
Religious
Service
Most
Israelites engaged in professional religious service were Levites
(Num. 3:12), including Moses, Aaron, and the priests in Aaron’s
line (Exod. 6:19–20; 35:19). The priests offered sacrifices to
God on behalf of the people (Heb. 5:1). Under the priests’
direction, the Levites were charged with caring for the tabernacle
and its furnishings (Num. 1:49; 1 Chron. 23:32) and carrying the
ark of the covenant (1 Chron. 15:2). They were set apart to
serve in God’s presence (Deut. 18:7) and to lead the people in
worship (2 Chron. 5:12). Further, priests often played an
important advisory role to Israel’s kings (2 Sam. 8:17;
1 Kings 4:5; 2 Kings 12:2).
In
Israel, people went to seers and prophets to inquire of God (1 Sam.
9:9), for they received and communicated God’s word (2 Sam.
24:11; Jer. 37:6). Sometimes individuals are mentioned as prophets,
and other times the prophets are discussed as an organized group
(1 Sam. 19:20; 1 Kings 22:6).
The
NT references a number of ministerial offices (1 Cor. 12:28;
Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:1–12). Not all ministers were paid,
though teachers and preachers had a right to “receive their
living from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14–15; cf. 1 Tim.
5:17). Apostles were those sent out by Jesus as his representatives.
The term apostolos refers particularly to the twelve apostles who
were with Jesus during his earthly ministry and who were witnesses of
his resurrection (Acts 1:21–22). Paul referred to himself as an
apostle (Gal. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1), and he calls Epaph-ro-di-tus and
others “messengers” (apostoloi) in the churches (2 Cor.
8:23; Phil. 2:25). Prophets have the spiritual gift of prophecy and
speak to strengthen, encourage, and comfort the church (Acts 15:32;
1 Cor. 14:3). Overseers (also called “elders” or
“pastors”) are qualified leaders who teach, shepherd, and
exercise authority in the church (1 Tim. 3:1; 1 Pet. 5:2).
Evangelists and missionaries proclaim the gospel and aim to win
converts to Christ (Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5). Those ministers who
are faithful to the gospel deserve support (3 John 8).
