Was Paul a "tentmaker"? (page 2)

adamah

Interesting topic, Cyrus.

The prefix Σ κηνοσ (skenos) however can mean "tent" or "stage" as in a theatre stage. (Skenos is where we get the English theatrical terms "scene" and "scenery" by the way) Is it possible that Paul and Co. were theatrical scenery makers?

Occupations often are used symbolically in Bible characters, eg Abraham enjoyed the favored nomadic lifestyle of tending livestock, the apostles were fishermen (then turned their nets to men), etc. I suspect Paul's tentmaker is much the same.

I haven't had a chance to look into it deeply, but I'd consider the possibility that Paul made stage costumes (although I'm wondering how costumes or stage scenery could've been elaborate enough or different from normal clothes to provide full-time employment in that time?). 'Skenos' can also refer to the Gnostic belief of the mortal body only serving as temporary shelter for the soul (where a tent could be thought of as temporary shelter, akin to the mortal coil housing the soul in Gnosticism). Hence the occupation of tent-making could be a sly reference.

Of course, Paul offered many statements that indicate he was Gnostic-leaning, although the inevitable clean-up of later redactors tried to remove some of the more obvious references to Gnostic beliefs.

EDIT: here's a post by cameo-D from 4 yrs ago :

The apostle Paul was a tentmaker. Most scholars believe that he made "personal prayer tents" or 'taliths', not tents to live in.

Religion appears to have been a lucrative business venture for Paul.

"Tal" means tent. "ith" means little. Little tent.

Talith, talit, talis.... all mean the same as the prayer shawl.

Talis......Talisman.....

Talisman are magical charms believed to have mystical powers to ward off evil or to bring good luck. Some are believed to work miracles or to bring about miraculous effects.

Adamah

mP

Its interesting that tentmaker can also mean a craftsman for theatre. Is this a slap at Paul saying he was a show man making up a fantasy for the masses. Was the reference to theatre a reflection of his actual physical employment or a way of describing his christianization ? It kind of reminds me of Joseph of Arimathea, a man from a place that is never mentioned anywhere in the bible or any other work. THe town that never existed.

Vidqun

Whatever Paul did, he worked hard at earning a living. He did not expect his brothers or sisters to look after him. In fact he said that one should not owe anybody a thing except to love one another (Rom. 13:8). It's called: "You practice what you preach" (cf. 1 Tim. 5:8). He set an excellent example.

mP

Vidqun

Whatever Paul did, he worked hard at earning a living. He did not expect his brothers or sisters to look after him. In fact he said that one should not owe anybody a thing except to love one another (Rom. 13:8). It's called: "You practice what you preach" (cf. 1 Tim. 5:8). He set an excellent example.

mP:
How do you know any of this ? I suppose you also know what colour hair and eyes he had.

mP

Viq:

He set an excellent example.

mP:

yes he set an excellent example in Philemon telling a runaway slave to go back to his master and then wait for it, never condemns the master. What a truely nice guy.

Vidqun

mP, read the scriptures. See what he wrote.

Bobcat

Vidqun:

Well said. Whatever he did, the Acts record gives no indication that others held it against him or made an issue of it. The complaints against Paul from Jews mostly were in connection with his supposed apostasy from faithfulness to the Mosaic Law. Others criticized his personal apprearance.

Although I think the 'stage scenery making' idea is unlikely for the Pharisee-raised Paul, I could see someone holding to that idea. There are a number of theatrical allusions in Paul's writings that would lend to the conjecture that he had some connection with the stage (via prop making).

Bobcat

A little more from the ISBE (Vol. IV, p. 792):

The term [skenopoios] is found only at Acts 18:3 in the NT and only rarely outside the NT and the Christian works influenced by it. Since Paul was from Cilicia, some have understood the term to mean that Paul was a weaver who made tents from a rough cloth produced in Cilicia from goats' hair (Lat. Cilicium), sometimes used for tents. Three factors, however, make this interpretation questionable: (1) it appears that in Paul's time tents were made chiefly from leather (see Hock, [The Social Context of Paul's Ministry, Tent Making and Apostleship; see here], pp. 21, 73 n. 16); (2) it is difficult to understand why a Pharisee like Paul would have chosen weaving, a despised occupation, as his trade; and (3) this view is not supported by early church fathers, all of which indicate that Paul was a leatherworker of some sort. The use of the term "tentmaker" may reflect "a widespread tendency among artisans [of that period] to use specialized titles, even though they made more products than their titles would suggest" (Hock, p. 21). Thus Paul probably made a variety of leather products, including tents.

[End of quote]

Incidentally, here is how the WT commentary on Acts discusses this:

*** bt chap. 19 p. 149 par. 5 "Keep On Speaking and Do Not Keep Silent" ***
How is it that Paul, a man who had been educated "at the feet of Gamaliel," was also a tentmaker by trade? (Acts 22:3) The Jews of the first century apparently did not consider it beneath their dignity to teach their children a trade, even though such children may have received additional education as well. Having come from Tarsus in Cilicia, the area famous for a cloth named cilicium from which tents were made, Paul likely learned the trade during his youth. What did tentmaking involve? The trade could involve weaving the tent cloth or cutting and sewing the coarse, stiff material in order to make the tents. Either way, it was hard work.

And here is another recent WT reference to this:

*** w09 3/1 p. 27 The City of Corinth-"Master of Two Harbours" ***
Commercial shipping activities in the port may have played a role in the apostle Paul's working as a tentmaker in Corinth. (Acts 18:1-3) The book In the Steps of St. Paul notes: "As winter drew near, the tent-makers of Corinth, who were also sail-makers, would have almost more work than they could execute. With both harbours full of ships laid up for the winter and anxious to refit while the seas were shut, the ships' chandlers of Lechæum and Cenchreæ must have had work for almost any man who could stitch a length of sail-cloth."

The Society seems to take the 'cloth making' angle to this as opposed to the leather-working.

RubaDub

If Paul, Priscilla and Aquila were tentmakers in the cosmopolitan city of Rome, and later in the equally cosmopolitan city of Corinth, who were their customers?

They likely shipped their tents and camping supplies to buyers outside the metropolitan are. Basically, a first century version of Amazon. com.

Rub a Dub

adamah

Bobcat said:

Although I think the 'stage scenery making' idea is unlikely for the Pharisee-raised Paul, I could see someone holding to that idea. There are a number of theatrical allusions in Paul's writings that would lend to the conjecture that he had some connection with the stage (via prop making).

It's interesting that the skeuopoios (mask-maker) is mentioned as having also been the person who manufactured special theatrical clothing and other properties:

http://www.props.eric-hart.com/education/ancient-greek-theatre-props/

Masks were used to make amplify the expression of the actor, and still is the classic symbol of an actor, eg:

Of course, the significant hurdle here is to remember the time period/location of the claim: since theatrics of 1st century Greece necessarily often included pagan elements and theatrical depictions of interactions with the Greek pantheon of Gods, playrights and their ilk would represent the example of the flawed ideas of mortal men; that might present a teensie-weensie bit of a moral challenge to a member of a Jewish cult off-shoot (which Christianity represented) to make his living by supporting the efforts of sinners. Paul spent his life polemicizing against Greek philosophy (the wisdom of men), so that's going to be a problem with the hypothesis that he worked in the theatre.

Adam

Was Paul a "tentmaker"?

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