Nazarene

1. 1. A native or inhabitant of Nazareth.
   2. Jesus.
2. A member of a sect of early Christians of Jewish origin who retained many of the prescribed Jewish observances.
3. A member of an American Protestant denomination, the Church of the Nazarene, that follows many of the doctrines of early Methodism.

[Middle English, from Late Latin Nazarēnus, from Greek Nazarēnos, from Nazaret, Nazareth.]

For more information on Nazarene, visit Britannica.com.

A name or title frequently applied to Jesus of Nazareth, and, in one reference (Acts 24:5), to his followers (see next entry). While the English translations frequently render the name as "of Nazareth", it is far from certain that the title actually derives from that village. First of all, a person coming from Nazareth (Natzrat in Hebrew) would properly be called a Nazarethite (Natzrati), not Nazarene (Notzri) which is etymologically impossible. Secondly, it would have been uncommon to name a man's followers after his hometown.

Only Matthew 2:23 seems to derive Nazarene from Nazareth: "and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 'He shall be called a Nazarene' ". However, the prophecy quoted is not found in any extant book of the OT. Numerous attempts have been made to determine matthew's source. The Septuagint at Judges 13:5 is reasonably close to Matthew's Greek, but this reference to Samson the Nazirite could be rejected on several grounds: it leaves no possible connection to Nazareth; Jesus was (probably not a Nazirite (cf Luke 7:34); it is difficult to see how this reference could be construed as "that which was spoken through the prophets"; and it is not clear that Matthew saw Samson as a type of Jesus.

It is important to note that the first two chapters of Matthew use a similar phrase four times (Matt 1:22ff; 2:5ff; 2:15; 2:17ff). In each case he speaks of a singular prophet, in each case the verse cited can easily be found. However, in 2:23 he speaks of "prophets" in the plural, leaving open the possibility that he is thinking less of a single reference than of a common theme in the prophets. The most important prophetic theme for Matthew was the promised messiah under his various titles. This may provide the key to his enigmatic reference (cf Luke 24:27; Acts 3:24). Isaiah 11:1-10 is a passage frequently cited in Talmudic literature, invariably appearing in a messianic context. One name used by Isaiah there is "branch", in Hebrew netzer. The description of the promised messianic figure as a Branch (more usually the Hebrew tzemah) is used by several prophets (Jer 23:5; Zech 3:8). Etymologically the title notzri (Nazarene) is easily derivable from Isaiah's netzer, and it has the advantage of being of the same Hebrew root as Nazareth. Thus the appellation Nazarene may be seen as a messianic title which also happens to be indirectly related to the name of the town from which Jesus came.

Concordance
Matt 2:23. Acts 24:5

Dansk (Danish)
n. - nazaræer
adj. - nazaræisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
Nazarener, Jezus, christen, Nazareens, christelijk

Français (French)
n. - Nazaréen
adj. - nazaréen

Deutsch (German)
n. - Nazarener
adj. - Nazarener-, aus Nazareth

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ο Ναζωραίος
adj. - Ναζωραίος, Ναζαρηνός

Italiano (Italian)
nazareno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - nazareno (m), Jesus Cristo
adj. - nazareno

Русский (Russian)
назарянин, назорей, назорейский

Español (Spanish)
n. - nazareno, Jesucristo, habitante de Nazaret
adj. - nazareno

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - nasaré
adj. - nasareisk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
拿撒勒人, 基督教信徒, 拿撒勒教徒, 拿撒勒人的, 拿撒勒的, 拿撒勒派的, 耶稣教会的, 早期犹太基督教会的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 拿撒勒人, 基督教信徒, 拿撒勒教徒
adj. - 拿撒勒人的, 拿撒勒的, 拿撒勒派的, 耶穌教會的, 早期猶太基督教會的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 나사렛 사람, 예수 그리스도, 기독교도(경멸적으로)
adj. - 나사렛의[사람의]

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ナザレ人, イエスキリスト, ナザレ教徒, キリスト教徒
adj. - ナザレの, ナザレ人の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الناصري, احد ابناء الناصرة, النصراني (صفه) من الناصرة, نصراني‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עם EHT לפניה: ישו הנוצרי, נוצרי, תושב נצרת, חבר בכת יהודית-נוצרית קדומה, חבר בכת פרוטסטנטית "כנסיית הנוצרי"‬
adj. - ‮מ/של נצרת או תושביה‬

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