Military and Government Work

A number of jobs were related to maintaining governments and kingdoms. At the top of the social structure were kings, queens and emperors, diplomats and ambassadors, senators and governors. Within the palace there were deputies, counselors, interpreters, and messengers. The interests of the leaders and the nation were protected by armies which were made up of military officers, soldiers, and armor-bearers. To maintain the government, additional workers were needed, such as tax collectors, keepers of records and secretaries, and lawyers. Some rulers hired musicians and others paid for advice from astrologers or fortunetellers.

The Jewish people in Jesus' day were ruled by the Roman government, which appointed a Roman governor (or procurator) to oversee the collection of taxes and keep order in the land. On the local level, the Romans allowed a council of religious and business leaders to handle certain problems and concerns, especially those related to maintaining the temple and worship.

Farming

When the Israelites settled in Canaan after leaving their life of slavery in Egypt, farming became a more important way of making a living for them. Grains, such as wheat and barley, were used for making bread, and were the most important crop. Grains, as well as lentils and peas, are known to have been cultivated in Palestine since prehistoric times. Unlike farmers in Egypt and Mesopotamia, Israelite farmers did not need to depend on irrigation for water. Even though the rainy season in Palestine was rather short and the soil was often rocky, the farmers' know-how in clearing and fertilizing the land usually produced fine crops. The Israelite farmers learned how to grow crops according to the yearly cycle of rainy and dry spells. They also learned to adjust the crops to what was best for the different kinds of land: fertile plains, rocky hills, and semi–barren areas. As time went on, their knowledge as farmers helped them to grow fruits, including melons, figs, dates, grapes, and olives.

Fishing was a far less important source of food and income for the people of Israel, since the Philistines and others controlled the seacoast. What fish were available usually came from Lake Galilee and the Jordan River. The most common fish was a type of sardine. According to the Law of Moses, the Israelite people were not to eat fish that lacked fins or scales, but the Bible does not mention specific kinds of fish. Since fishing is mentioned so little in the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament), some scholars think it was not important to the economy of Israel. It is possible that the fishing industry was more prosperous in the time of Jesus than it had been earlier, since when Jesus called James and John to be his disciples, they left the family fishing business to their father and the “hired workers”

Slavery

Often the Bible is not always clear when describing the work of servants, because the word “servant” may mean either a slave or a person hired to do some task. Slavery in many forms was fairly common in Bible times. Some people sold themselves into slavery to pay back a debt, or because they were desperately poor and that was the only way they could get food and shelter. Many slaves in Bible times were prisoners of war. Most slaves performed household work rather than field work or manual labor. There are some rules regarding slavery in the Bible, including ones that put a limit on the customs for slavery and recommended when a term of slavery should come to an end. There was also some expectation that slaves would be treated fairly and without cruelty.

Shepherds

Closer to the time of Jesus, when urban life was more developed, shepherds may also have lived in or near villages. They had the right to let their flocks feed in the nearby pastures and would have been hired by landowners who needed help to harvest their fields. When food supplies got scarce near the villages, shepherds would move their herds to mountain pastures in the hot summer, or to warmer valleys in the winter.

A shepherd's life was not easy. Shepherds spent most of their time outside watching over the herd, no matter what the weather. They often slept near their flock to protect it from robbers or wild animals. The shepherd's tools and weapons were a rod, a staff, and a sling. Each night, the shepherds would gather their flocks into places called “sheepfolds.” These could be stone walls made by the shepherds or natural enclosures, such as a cave. Shepherds used their rod to help count their animals each evening when they brought them into the fold and again in the morning when they left for the pastures.

Herding

People in the time of Jesus had to make money to provide for their families, and one occupation that was fulfilled was Herding.

The Bible describes the many different kinds of jobs people had in the ancient world, but caring for land and animals are two of the central jobs mentioned. Genesis reports that one of Adam and Eve's sons herded sheep while the other farmed the land. The earliest ancestors of the people of Israel, including Abraham and Sarah, traveled from place to place and survived by keeping herds and flocks of animals. Another piece of evidence for the importance of herding and farming in ancient Israelite society is that the Bible gives special instructions about eating, sacrificing animals, and sacrificing grain.

Keeping herds of animals like sheep and goats was common among the many generations of the people of Israel. At first, these herders (shepherds) were wandering nomads who lived in tents and had very little personal property. They moved from place to place, always trying to find food and water for their animals. They survived by eating the meat and drinking the milk produced by their flocks. They used the animals' wool and hides to make clothes and other things, including the tents they lived in.