Woodworker; "ho tekton" is a translation of the Semitic "naggar"; craftsman, but may also mean teacher, or scholar.
Maria, a temple virgin and Joseph probably gave Jesus the ideal background for his future task.
People apparently thought that Joseph was the father of Jesus.
Evidently the evangelist found ready to his hand a list at first constructed to show how Jesus, through his father Joseph, was the authentic descendant of the patriarch Abraham, father of the faithful, recipient of the divine promises, and of King David from whom the Scriptures declared — or so it was believed — the Messiah was to issue.
Embarrassment is shown by the variation in the ancient readings, notably by the reading of the Syrian Codex Sinaiticus:
"Jacob begat Joseph; Joseph, to whom the Virgin Mary was betrothed, begat Jesus who is called Christ." Mt 1;16
It is vain to contend that this cannot be true reading when compared with the equally awkward reading of the canonical version: "Joseph, espoused to Mary, of whom was born Jesus," etc., which deprives the genealogy of all meaning. The true reading, pre-evangelical, is surely: "Joseph begat Jesus, called Christ." Ref. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/loisy2/chapter5.html
Also see; Mary.