New International Version
Matthew 2:23
23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 2:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
- New King James Version (NKJV)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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Context of Matthew 2:23
21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Read all of Matthew 2Matthew 2:23 word by word
καὶ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς πόλιν λεγομένην Ναζαρέτ, ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ὅτι Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- he cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- and dweltκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
- inεἰςeis · towardG1519
- a cityπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
- calledλέγωlegō · to say: callG3004
- NazarethΝαζαρέθ, ΝαζαράNazareth Nazaret · NazarethG3478
- thatὅπωςhopōs · thatG3704
- it might be fulfilledπληρόωplēroō · to fulfillG4137
- whichὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- was spokenἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- byδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- the prophetsπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396
- ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- He shall be calledκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
- a NazareneΝαζωραῖοςNazōraios · NazarethG3480
Cross-references for Matthew 2:23
- John 18:5“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)
- John 19:19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews.
- Acts 2:22“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
- Matthew 26:71Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
- Numbers 6:13“ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the period of their dedication is over. They are to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.
- Judges 13:5You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
- 1 Samuel 1:11And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
- Psalms 69:9for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
- Isaiah 53:1Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
- Amos 2:10I brought you up out of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites.
- John 1:45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- Acts 24:5“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect
Commentaries on Matthew 2:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets - It is difficult to ascertain by what prophets this was spoken. The margin usually refers to Judges 13:5, where the angel, foretelling the birth of Samson, says, No razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite (נזיר nezir ) unto God from the womb. The second passage usually referred to is Isaiah 11:1; : There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch (נצר…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23And he came and dwelt - That is, he made it his permanent residence. The Lord Jesus, in fact, resided there until he entered on the work of his ministry until he was about 30 years of age. In a city called Nazareth - This was a small town, situated in Galilee, west of Capernaum, and not far from Cana. It was built partly in a valley and partly on the declivity of a hill, Luke 4:29. A hill is yet pointed out, to the south of Nazareth, as the one from which…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-23Verses 19-23 Egypt may serve to sojourn in, or take shelter in, for awhile, but not to abide in. Christ was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to them he must return. Did we but look upon the world as our Egypt, the place of our bondage and banishment, and heaven only as our Canaan, our home, our rest, we should as readily arise and depart thither, when we are called for, as Joseph did out of Egypt. The family must settle in Galilee. Nazareth…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23“He will be called a Nazarene”: Matthew connects the name Nazareth with words from the prophets (see Isaiah 11:1, where the Messiah is called a “Branch,” [Hebrew netser]; and Judges 13:5, where Samson is called a “Nazirite”).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth--a small town in Lower Galilee, lying in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, and about equally distant from the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Sea of Galilee on the east. Note--If, from Lu 2:39, one would conclude that the parents of Jesus brought Him straight back to Nazareth after His presentation in the temple--as if there had been no visit of the Magi, no flight to Egypt, no stay there, and…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 2:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries