Nazareth
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hi all, need some help here...
was looking through MAtthew2: 23. it write that... so what the prophet said came true ' he will be called a Nazarene'.
but i cant seem to find anything that points to that.
anyone can point that out to me? -
must admit that I have not really thought of this, a quick check from the Easton Bible Dictionary turn out this resultOriginally posted by ben1xy:hi all, need some help here...
was looking through MAtthew2: 23. it write that... so what the prophet said came true ' he will be called a Nazarene'.
but i cant seem to find anything that points to that.
anyone can point that out to me?The name Nazareth perhaps means 'a watch tower' (now en-Nasrah), but is connected in the New Testament with Netzer, 'a branch' (Isaiah_4:2; Jer_23:5; Zech_3:8; Zech_6:12; Matt_2:23), Nazarene being quite a different word from Nazarite."
Please share with us your findings... (I also want to know, hee hee
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i'll ask my parish priest tomorrowOriginally posted by vince69:Please share with us your findings... (I also want to know, hee hee )
hahaa.. see whether he knows -
so wad do u think?Originally posted by askxyz: -
There is 20% chance your parish priest will say "oral tradition".Originally posted by ben1xy:i'll ask my parish priest tomorrow
hahaa.. see whether he knows
Vince is right .. you need to attack it from the "branch" angle. -
i'll let u guys know tomorrow! hopefully he doesn't get too naggyOriginally posted by Icemoon:There is 20% chance your parish priest will say "oral tradition".
Vince is right .. you need to attack it from the "branch" angel.
lol -
the link doesn't explain well? Make sense ...Originally posted by ben1xy:so wad do u think? -
Originally posted by askxyz:the link doesn't explain well? Make sense ...
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From my bible commentary:Originally posted by ben1xy:hi all, need some help here...
was looking through MAtthew2: 23. it write that... so what the prophet said came true ' he will be called a Nazarene'.
but i cant seem to find anything that points to that.
anyone can point that out to me?
These exact words are not found in the OT and probably refer to several OT prefigurations and/or predictions (note the plural, "prophets") that the Messiah would be despised (e.g. Ps 22:6; Is 53:3) for in Jesus' day "nazarene" was virtually a synonym for "despised" (see John 1:45-46). Some hold that in speaking of Jesus as a "Nazarene", Matthew is referring primarily to the word "branch" (Hebrew neser) in Is 11:1. -
this definitely makes senseOriginally posted by laoda99:From my bible commentary:
These exact words are not found in the OT and probably refer to several OT prefigurations and/or predictions (note the plural, "prophets") that the Messiah would be despised (e.g. Ps 22:6; Is 53:3) for in Jesus' day "nazarene" was virtually a synonym for "despised" (see John 1:45-46). Some hold that in speaking of Jesus as a "Nazarene", Matthew is referring primarily to the word "branch" (Hebrew neser) in Is 11:1. -
It is actually the same as the link but the link is too lo so and detail...Originally posted by ben1xy:this definitely makes sense -
Hi Ben1xy,
Got the extract from a website which particularly deals with the subject matter you are pursuing. it is by Dennis Bratcher. i read it - in particular para 2 which correlates with vince's findings and make sense to me. The last 2 paras in the extract is also edifying. I dunno, you might find more use of it.
website: http://www.cresourcei.org/branch.html
Blessings.
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The prophets used various metaphors to refer to this anticipated revival of the ideal monarchy to replace the corrupt kings of the day, including "servant" (Haggai, Isaiah), "signet ring" (Haggai), "shepherd" (Micah, Ezekiel), or simply "David" (Amos). But in all three of the above examples, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah also use the term "branch" as a metaphor to refer to the new king that God would raise up from the line of David (Isa 4:2, 11:1, Jer 23:5, Zech 3:8, 6:12). The metaphor is most clearly expressed in Isaiah 11:1: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
In Hebrew, the word "branch" is netzer, actually only three consonantal letters: NZR. Note that the town NaZaReth contains the same three primary letters (plus an ending often attached to nouns). In the Aramaic form of Nazareth, (Aramaic was the common language spoken by most Israelites after the exile; some have suggested that the entire book of Matthew was originally written in Aramaic rather than Greek), it comes very close in sound to the Hebrew word for "branch."
It seems, then, that Matthew was not at all "mistaken" in this Old Testament reference, although he was certainly not exegeting Isaiah. He was identifying the obscure Galilean town of Nazareth in which Jesus grew up with the OT reference to a netzer God would raise up to bring justice and righteousness and peace to His people. In other words, this was the means Matthew used to identify Jesus, even as a child returning to an obscure town in remote Galilee ("can any good thing come from Nazareth?" -John 1:47), as the "King" from the line of David whom God had finally raised up to restore His people.
It is no coincidence that it is Matthew more than the other Gospels in which the idea of the Kingdom of God and the reign of God through His King finds particular prominence. This is MatthewÂ’s way of confessing Jesus to be the Messiah (the Christ)! But he is not doing it historically, or geographically, as we so often assume, nor is he simply connecting predictive prophecy with its later fulfillment. He is doing it theologically, by using the similarity in sound between a word in Hebrew and a word in Aramaic, as he is (probably) writing in Greek! He is not interpreting Isaiah directly; He is bearing witness to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Branch!
What all of this suggests is that it is very unlikely that Isaiah in 700 BC, or Jeremiah in 600 BC, or Zechariah in 520 BC had in mind the city of Nazareth as they talked about the Branch. They were not predicting anything about the city of Nazareth. MatthewÂ’s application here cannot be used as the key to understand those books. It must work the other way; we cannot really understand MatthewÂ’s reference without first understanding the entire concept and set of metaphors, and some cultural history, from the Old Testament prophets. What those prophets affirm in the metaphor of the Branch is that God will not leave His people without a leader to show them how to be His people. It is not a predictive prophecy; it is an affirmation about GodÂ’s grace, that He will continue to work in history to enable His people to respond faithfully as His people.
And Matthew, understanding both the significance of the coming of Jesus, and the affirmation about God that those prophets of long ago made, links the two in affirming that in Jesus, the Christ, the Branch, God has once again been faithful to His people by entering history and providing a way for them to be His people. Matthew takes the insignificant town in which Jesus grew up and uses it as a metaphor to confess Jesus as the fulfillment of the hopes of a thousand years, and the revelation of the faithfulness of God to His people. To me that is a far more significant affirmation than trying to figure out how to use Matthew to interpret Isaiah, or to use this as an example of predictive prophecy. -
EH pple like to post long articles.
must force everyone to practise writing precis once in a while. -
yeah.....hahaOriginally posted by Icemoon:EH pple like to post long articles.
must force everyone to practise writing precis once in a while.
I think the bible commentary posted by me just nice ha.... -
spoke to my Parish Priest. his explanation was similar to that of laoda
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He must have read SGF last night.Originally posted by ben1xy:spoke to my Parish Priest. his explanation was similar to that of laoda -
wah. kanna shot by a old bird.Originally posted by Icemoon:EH pple like to post long articles.
must force everyone to practise writing precis once in a while.
ok, point noted.
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what old bird?Originally posted by klydeer:wah. kanna shot by a old bird.
ok, point noted. 
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'Nazarene' later became known as 'Ebionite' and was never a location but a way of life.Originally posted by ben1xy:hi all, need some help here...
was looking through MAtthew2: 23. it write that... so what the prophet said came true ' he will be called a Nazarene'.
but i cant seem to find anything that points to that.
anyone can point that out to me?
The Ebionites or (Nazarenes) were the followers of John the Baptist, and later converted to Jesus. We see them today as the very first 'Christians' even though the term Christian is not mentioned until Acts 11:26
If a Christian studied the beliefs of the Ebionites he/she might even consider them as heretics by our beliefs today.
The town of Nazareth did not exist in the Old Testament nor in the time of Jesus's ministry. It did not come on the scene till the time of the writers of the New Testament. Years after 33 A.D.