There are no extant non-biblical references to Nazareth until around 200 CE, the excavations revealed that Nazareth was a graveyard in the 1st century CE not a well populated area, it is also never mentioned in the Tanakh or in any other Jewish writings of the period. Here is one of my referenceshttp://www.academia.edu/3988852/The_Quest_for_the_Historical_NazarethThere were more than one Bethlehem, which Bethlehem was Jesus born in if it wasn't Nazareth? and why add Nazareth?
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so Is it really matters when the city being called Nazareth? the word Nazareth already written in Matthew (2-23) and Mark gospels after years of the historical Jesus PBUH lifting.
Nazarene:- which they translated in (Isaiah 11-1) = wə-nê-ṣer = וְנֵ֖צֶר = and a(wa) Branch or Shoot(neser) and still trying to stick it to Matthew 2-23..
KJV (Isaiah 11-1)"And there shall come forth a SHOOT out of the stock of Jesse, And a Twig shall grow forth out of his roots.".
so (נֵ֖צֶר) = scion, descendant, shoot, offspring, offshoot, sprout.... in google translation. that means
BUT is:-
A- David came right from Jesse , so could it be him ?
B- how sure they are that the branch, offshoot(ne-ser) points to Jesus in that sentence? no proof
C- Is branch , offshoot is an appropriate call to a prophet , everyone of us is a branch and a shoot. so ?
is that an enough proof that Matthew was wrong and there is no Nazarene in the OT bible of prophets? or he wanted to stick the call Nazarene to OT because of something else? or because Jesus PBUH was being called Nazarene(Naseri) by his people? or he was wrong and wanted to say "said in judges" not in prophets? so i think that Christians now believes that Nazarene means a branch because of their scholars interpretation ,and I think it's a wrong believe.
lets find a appropriate meaning for the call Nazarene other than branch, offshoot from the bible.
KJV (Judges 13:5)"For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."
lets see Nazarite from (Judges 13:5):- in (Judges 13:5) = nə-zîr = נְזִ֧יר = a Nazarite. it have close definitions to the word (Ne-ser) .in google translation the word (נְזִ֧יר) = monk , frair , hermit , anchorite , abstinent. in english
Nazarite = (نذير) nazeer in arabic = a Warner. and maybe it can't be a Warner unto god. so he is a supporter unto god.(Naseri unto Allah) (Ansar Allah)
so Nazerite unto god in (Judges 13:5) points to the one who supports the cause of god..
in Arabic he is called Naseri(ناصري) by Arab Christians (surely Naseri unto Allah).
Ansar Allah(أنصار الله) in Arabic means the ones who supports the cause of god also.. so Nazareth means Nasera(ناصرة) means the supporter , the Espoused.
Nasara(نصارى) = we called them Christians today and that's how (نصارى) Nasara translated in google , but in the real meaning they are supporters, helpers(we hope they can be helpers to the cause of god). and god knows best.see the noble verse (3-52)
Arberry: And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said, 'Who will be my helpers(انصاري) unto God?' The Apostles said, 'We will be helpers(أنصار) of God; we believe in God; witness thou our submission."
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my older research about that subject was weak so i updated it.
Matt 2-23"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."
so let's analyze the intended nationalism call Nazarene in this:-
maybe his intention was:-
1- that he shall be called Nazarene because he came and dwelt in a city of Nazareth , but nationalism thing was not the intentions in Isaiah (11-1)( offshoot ) or in Judges(13-5) ( supporter ).
2- if Nazarene really points in the bible of prophets (Isaiah 11-1) a branch where he called a branch Ne-ser or netser not the nationality definition Nazarene,, so why mentioning Nazareth then?, what's the point? and where is Jesse in all that?
3- where is it spoken by the prophets "that he shall be called Nazarene" , or that he shall be called branch?
4- or it is one of Matthew mistakes? and Jews didn't find any Nazareth or Nazarene in TANAKH, but we found Nazerite in judges(13-5) which is 1-not in the bible of prophets and 2- not Nazarene the nationality, then it's impossible and not rational to be meant a branch , offshoot for a prophet of god. it seems that Matt just gave a nationality to Jesus by that sentence nothing more, just to strengthen his book in prophecies about Jesus from the OT.
i think it's false to say that he shall be called (netser)(offshoot) in the prophets , because everyone of us can be an offshoot but no one of us will be called branch (hey hello! branch how are you today?), not the national call Nazarene.. they also didn't call him Jesse Nazarene(Jesse branch) in Matthew or mentioned Jesse in that sentence.
it's all chaos in the NT for trying connecting it to OT.
yourz
khdrb