In Luke 2:48, when Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple, Mary refers to Joseph as “your father,” and in Matthew 13:55, Jesus is called “the carpenter’s son.” For earthly purposes, Joseph was Jesus’ father, so we can assume that Jesus called him “father” (Hebrew. “Abba” and Aramaic, “Abun”) or equivalents. There are two people named Joseph in Sacred Scripture. In the Old Testament, Jacob, whom the Lord calls Israel, has twelves sons, who will become the leaders of the twelve tribes. Joseph is Jacob’s youngest and favorite son. Out of jealousy, his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37-50). Taken into Egypt by a trader he earns a place at the side of the Pharaoh, enabling him to save the Israelites when famine descends upon the land of Canaan. In the New Testament, Joseph is the husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus. A direct descendant of King David, he passes that rightful title to Our Lord, satisfying the prophecies Samuel made to David that his throne would be eternal (2 Sam. 7:16), a hint at the divine and human nature of one of his descendants. St. Joseph’s story is important because, as the earthly father of Jesus, he and Mary are caretakers of God Himself. Jesus even follows in Joseph’s footsteps by becoming a carpenter. In other words, Joseph helped shape the earthly life for Our Lord during His childhood and young adulthood.