Bible Question:
What was the significance of Jesus being called a "Nazarene" Matthew 2:23 |
Bible Answer: dltlshines,Back in the day, according to Matthew Henry, "to call a man a Nazarene was to treat him with contempt. No good was to be expected from such a man and no respect is due him." Matthew Henry was a 17th and early 18th Century minister of the Gospel in Chester, England, and died in 1714. You can read more from him at, blueletterbible.org Isaiah 53:3 reads, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Now this is what I found in Easton's Bible dictionary, under Nazarene: Nazarene: This epithet ( Gr. Nazaraios) is applied to Christ only once ( Mat 2:23). In all other cases the word is rendered "of Nazareth" ( Mar 1:24; 10:47; 14:67, etc.). When this Greek designation was at first applied to our Lord, it was meant simply to denote the place of his residence. In course of time the word became a term of reproach. Thus the word "Nazarene" carries with it an allusion to those prophecies which speak of Christ as "despised of men" ( Isa 53:3). Some, however, think that in this name there is an allusion to the Hebrew _netser_, which signifies a branch or sprout. It is so applied to the Messiah ( Isa 11:1), i.e., he whom the prophets called the _Netse_, the "Branch." I hope this information helps. Peace and Blessings, Tim |