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NAZARETH

(Gk. Nazarét, Nazaréth)

A city in central Galilee located on a ridge overlooking the Jezreel Valley to the south and the Beth-neṭofa Valley (Sahl el-Baṭṭof) to the north (170234). There are no literary references to Nazareth prior to the NT, and Josephus never mentions the site. Variant spellings in the Greek NT (Matt. 4:13; Luke 4:16 read Nazará; all others read Nazaréth or Nazarét) and the Greek manuscript traditions accentuate its relative anonymity prior to Christendom. At the time of Jesus, Nazareth was an obscure village S of Sepphoris. Excavations under several churches and convents have found dwellings dug into bedrock and around caves. Silos, olive and wine presses, as well as storage jar receptacles are indicative of the village’s agricultural base. Evidence for a necropolis helps determine the extent of the 1st-century ruins, which correlate to a population of well under 500. Nathanael’s exclamation in John 1:46, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” aptly symbolizes the town’s obscurity in the 1st century. In the NT Nazareth is at times referred to as a city (Gk. pólis; e.g., Matt. 2:23), but this can hardly be taken in the proper technical sense. According to Luke 2:4-5 Nazareth was the hometown of both Mary and Joseph (Matt. 2 seems to imply it was Bethlehem). It was considered Jesus’ hometown (Matt. 13:54; Mark 6:1; Luke 4:16), from which he departed to Capernaum at the beginning of his ministry (Matt. 4:13). The Gospels concur that Jesus’ ministry was less than successful in Nazareth, precisely because it was his hometown (Matt. 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30). Jesus is often referred to as “the Nazarene” (Mark 1:24; 10:46; John 18:5, 7; Acts 2:22; 3:6), and in Acts 24:5 his followers are even called “Nazarenes,” with no apparent connection to the Nazirites.

A 3rd-century c.e. synagogue mosaic inscription from Caesarea locates one of the Jewish priestly courses at Nazareth after the destruction of the temple. It is doubtful that a priestly connection can be retrojected into the 1st century, but it does indicate that Nazareth was acceptable for Jewish priests to settle. Nazareth did not rise to prominence among Christian pilgrims until the late Byzantine period, when Christian building projects began, many of which still leave their mark on the modern city, such as the Church of St. Joseph and the Church of the Annunciation.

Bibliography. B. Bagatti, Excavations at Nazareth I (Jerusalem, 1969); E. M. Meyers and J. F. Strange, Archaeology, the Rabbis, and Early Christianity (Nashville, 1981); J. E. Taylor, Christians and the Holy Places (Oxford, 1993).

Jonathan L. Reed

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

NAZARETH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)