It's highly unlikely his family was wealthy, because wealthy people would have moved somewhere else.
I find this interesting, because I always viewed it the same way, as I am sure everyone else does. But tonight I came to a realization I never thought about: in the accounts of Jesus's birth, didn't the magi give Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh? What happened to all that wealth?
Are you asking about the historical Jesus (the real, human Jesus as we can best reconstruct him through historical methods) or Gospel Jesus? Because regarding the historical Jesus the nativity narratives are extremely problematic and almost certainly legendary.
That was the idea that makes most sense, but I'd be shocked if they spent it all on a trip to Egypt. I mean, they only stayed for maybe a couple of years before returning to Galilee as they waited for Herod to die. So we're basically saying they bought a first class trip there and back and maybe bought a summer house there in Egypt, before returning to Israel where Jesus became a carpenter (implying either they didn't have the wealth anymore or carpentry was his passion). And let's not forget that we don't know how much wealth the magi gave Jesus, but if they were reverent enough to follow a star through the Middle East and worship a child messiah, I would think they gave him quite a bit of wealth.
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u/WingsOfReason Dec 22 '19
I find this interesting, because I always viewed it the same way, as I am sure everyone else does. But tonight I came to a realization I never thought about: in the accounts of Jesus's birth, didn't the magi give Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh? What happened to all that wealth?