[DrC]

“Common knowledge for some.”

Uh, OK, guess these are dead wrong:

“During the life of Jesus, this [Nazareth] was an isolated agricultural village with few inhabitants. Some say that as few as 150 people lived here during the days of Christ. Some scholars conclude that Nazareth was founded in 100 BC by a clan from the line of David who was returning from exile in Babylonia. However, ancient sources do not speak at all about Nazareth; we only hear of it in the New Testament.”
http://www.jesusfamilytomb.com/nazareth.html

“Situated inside a bowl atop the Nazareth ridge north of the Jezreel valley, Nazareth was a relatively isolated village in the time of Jesus with a population less than two hundred.”
http://www.bibleplaces.com/nazareth.htm

“James Strange, an American archaeologist, notes: “Nazareth is not mentioned in ancient Jewish sources earlier than the third century AD. This likely reflects its lack of prominence both in Galilee and in Judaea.”[27] Strange originally speculated that the population of Nazareth at the time of Christ to be “roughly 1,600 to 2,000 people”, but later, in a subsequent publication, at “a maximum of about 480.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazareth

FWIW, these are the first 3 listings under a Google search for “Nazareth” “bible,” my point being that I didn’t cherry-pick the results to select the ones supporting my original contention that Nazareth was pretty puny. Even a “village/town/city” of 480 presumably would encompass only about 100 households. Could such a small number seriously support an architect? I’m no biblical scholar: I’m merely saying that the speculation that Joseph was an architect lacks some face validity.

[BroJoeK]

"Even a “village/town/city” of 480 presumably would encompass only about 100 households. Could such a small number seriously support an architect? I’m no biblical scholar: I’m merely saying that the speculation that Joseph was an architect lacks some face validity."

Since you have taken time to study the question, perhaps a piece of new information could influence your thinking?

Of course Nazareth was a small village, not large enough to support any significant "upper class" population or activities. But Nazareth was also just a few miles, walking distance, down the road from Sepphoris, Harad Antipas' capital city -- a place of wealth, power and no doubt, intrigue.

And if I remember correctly, wasn't one of Jesus' first followers a woman from Harad's court?

So here's my conclusion: if Joseph and/or Jesus were larger scale builders or "architects," then they worked not in Nazareth, but next door, in Sepphoris.

[Timotheous]

Scholars differ on the Hebrew spelling of Nazareth, hence the confusion. In any event, Joseph was a tekton, + would not have been restricted to working in Nazareth only. If you listen to the lecture, you will learn of the connection with Josephus and the main source of ‘tekton’ work during Joseph’s lifetime.

[Timotheous]

‘Common knowlege for some’ was referring to the guestroom / inn confusion (Luke 2:7) not Nazareth.
‘No room at the inn’ has gotten in to our vocab - but it is not what the Greek says. The inn in the parable of the Samaritan is ‘pandoceion’ meaning ‘a public house for the reception of strangers’ —Strong’s Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.
What is translated as ‘inn’ in Luke 2:7 is ‘guest-chamber’ as per Luke 22:11 (the last supper). If you had a family living somewhere would you go to a motel or to your dad’s home? Thanks for the debate.