Apocrypha
History of Joseph the Carpenter
The Carpenter
4 chapters · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
The death of Joseph told by Jesus to the disciples on the Mount of Olives: his age, his fear, what he said at the end, and who stood beside the bed.
Where this text comes from
Coptic and Arabic, 4th to 7th centuries AD, probably of Egyptian origin. The text had liturgical use tied to the feast of Joseph.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside the canons. It is late devotional literature, made for one feast and one community.
What you will find
- It gives Joseph one hundred and eleven years and a first wife with children, settling the question of Jesus's brothers in its own way.
- The death scene is long and concrete: the body growing cold from the feet up, the fear of the angels who come to fetch him.
- Jesus weeps and prays for his foster father, and Mary says little.
Frequently asked questions
- How old was Joseph when he died?
- This text says one hundred and eleven. No canonical gospel gives Joseph's age or narrates his death.