Nazareth, Nazarene

Definition

Nazareth is a town in the region of Galilee in northern Israel. It is about 100 kilometers north of Jerusalem, and it takes about three to five days to travel there on foot.

• Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth, and this is where they raised Jesus. That is why Jesus was known as “the Nazarene.”
• Many of the Jews living in Nazareth did not respect Jesus’ teaching because he had grown up among them, and they thought he was just an ordinary person.
• Once, when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue at Nazareths, the Jews there tried to kill him because he claimed to be the Messiah and had rebuked them for rejecting him.
• The remark Nathaniel made when he heard that Jesus was from Nazareth indicated that this city was not thought of very highly.

(See also: Christ, Galilee, Joseph (NT), Mary)

Bible References

• Acts 26:9-11
• John 1:43-45
• Luke 1:26-29
• Mark 16:5-7
• Matthew 2:23
• Matthew 21:9-11
• Matthew 26:71-72

Examples from the Bible stories

• __23:4 Joseph and Mary had to make a long journey from where they lived in Nazareth__ to Bethlehem because their ancestor was David whose hometown was Bethlehem.
• __26:2 Jesus went to the town of Nazareth__ where he had lived during his childhood.
• __26:7 The people of Nazareth__ dragged Jesus out of the place of worship and brought him to the edge of a cliff to throw him off of it in order to kill him.

Word Data

• Strong’s: G34780, G34790, G34800