“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.”
I’d buy that. The original poster claimed Nazareth was “not a podunk village.” Your response “Of course Nazareth was a small village” is more in keeping with my understanding about the size of the town. I didn’t know Sepphoris was only 3 miles away. So perhaps Joseph was an architect who commuted there. But as others have noted, placing Jesus in an upper middle-class family somewhat undercuts the biblical depiction of him.
And as long as we’re focused on evidence, I’m curious what you think about the evidence regarding whether a “historical Jesus” even existed, much less was fathered by Joseph: http://www.jesuspuzzle.humanists.net/jhcjp.htm
Without taking time to read your entire article, possibly we can summarize it by saying they take a "minimalist" approach to ancient historical evidence.
I don't.
I'm more inclined to accept as historically true whatever ancient sources have not been proved false.
This means I accept the Bible as historically valid -- not to say it is a complete history of that time or place, but that what it tells us happened, did happen, certainly in the minds of those who saw and remembered it.
The Bible tells us that Joseph did not father Jesus, but did accept him as a son. It does not say directly whether Joseph and/or Jesus were small town carpenters or big city builders and "architects".
The former has always been assumed, but I am sympathetic with the idea that, well, Jesus "knew too much" for a small-town boy. He is wise in matters of human nature, authoritative in speaking with large crowds -- where does one learn such things? And he refers to Herod Antipas as "that fox" -- sounds to me like Jesus knew Herod well.
So I think it likely that Joseph & Jesus had a closer connection to Herod's capital city of Sepphoris than has traditionally been recognized. However, I'd never assert this beyond what the evidence suggests, and at most, that is all the evidence does -- suggest.