Nazarene is a title used to describe people from the city ofNazareth in the New Testament (there is no mention of either Nazareth or Nazarene in the Old Testament), and is a title applied toJesus, who, according to theNew Testament, grew up inNazareth,[1] a town inGalilee, located in ancient Judea. The word is used to translate two related terms that appear in the Greek New Testament:Nazarēnos ('Nazarene') andNazōraios ('Nazorean'). The phrases traditionally rendered as "Jesus of Nazareth" can also be translated as "Jesus the Nazarene" or "Jesus the Nazorean",[2] and the titleNazarene may have a religious significance instead of denoting a place of origin. BothNazarene andNazorean are irregular in Greek and the additional vowel inNazorean complicates any derivation fromNazareth.[3]
TheGospel of Matthew explains that the titleNazarene is derived from the prophecy "He will be called a Nazorean",[4] but this has no obviousOld Testament source. Some scholars argue that it refers to a passage in theBook of Isaiah,[5] withNazarene a Greek reading of the Hebrewne·tser ('branch'), understood as amessianic title.[6] Others point to a passage in theBook of Judges which refers toSamson as aNazirite, a word that is just one letter off fromNazarene in Greek.[7] It is also possible that Nazorean signs Jesus as a ruler.[8]
The GreekNew Testament usesNazarene six times (Mark, Luke), whileNazorean is used 13 times (Matthew, Mark in some manuscripts, Luke, John, Acts). In theBook of Acts,Nazorean is used to refer to a follower of Jesus, i.e. aChristian, rather than an inhabitant of a town.[9]Notzrim is the modern Hebrew word for Christians (No·tsri,נוֹצְרִי) and one of two words commonly used to mean 'Christian' in Syriac (Nasrani) and Arabic (Naṣrānī,نصراني).
Nazarene is anglicized from GreekNazarēnos (Ναζαρηνός), a word applied to Jesus in the New Testament.[10] Several Hebrew words have been suggested as roots:[11]
The traditional view is that this word's derived from the Hebrew word for Nazareth (Nazara) that was used in ancient times.[12]Nazareth, in turn, may be derived from eitherna·tsar,נָצַר, meaning 'to watch',[13] or fromne·tser,נֵ֫צֶר, meaning 'branch'.[14]
The common Greek structureIesous o Nazoraios (Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος) 'Jesus the Nazarene/of Nazareth' is traditionally considered as one of severalgeographical names in the New Testament such asLoukios o Kurenaios (Λούκιος ὁ Κυρηναῖος) 'Lucius the Cyrenian/Lucius of Cyrene',Trofimos o Efesios ('Trophimus the Ephesian',Τρόφιμος ὁ Ἐφέσιος),Maria Magdalene ('Mary the woman of Magdala'),Saulos Tarseus ('Saul the Tarsian'), or many classical examples such asAthenagoras the Athenian (Ἀθηναγόρας ὁ Ἀθηναῖος).
The Greek phrase usually translated asJesus of Nazareth (iēsous o nazōraios) can be compared with three other places in the New Testament where the constructionof Nazareth is used:
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth (ho apo Nazaret,ὁ ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ) with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.Acts 10:38KJV 1611
Jesus is also referred to as "from Nazareth of Galilee":
And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." (ho apo Nazaret tes Galilaias,ὁ ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας)Matthew 21:11
Similar is found inJohn 1:45–46:
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus, the son of Joseph, he from Nazareth (τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ;Nominative case:ho uios tou Iosef ho apo Nazaret).
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth (ek Nazaretἐκ Ναζαρὲτ)? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Some considerJesus the Nazarene more common in the Greek.[15] The name "of Nazareth" is not used of anyone else, and outside the New Testament there is no 1st-century reference to Nazareth.
Nazareth andNazarene are complementary only in Greek, where they possess the "z", orvoiced alveolar fricative. In Semitic languages,Nazarene and its cognates Nazareth, Nazara, and Nazorean/Nazaraean possess thevoiceless alveolar fricative corresponding to the "s" or "ts" sound. Voiced and voiceless sounds follow separate linguistic pathways. The Greek forms referring to Nazareth should therefore beNasarene,Nasoraios, andNasareth.[citation needed] The additional vowel (ω) inNazorean makes this variation more difficult to derive, although a weakAramaic vowel inNazareth has been suggested as a possible source.[3]
Jerome (c. 347 – 420) linkedNazarene to a verse in theBook of Isaiah, claiming thatNazarene was the Hebrew reading of a word scholars read asne·tzer ('branch').[17] The text from Isaiah is:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.ve·ya·tza cho·ter mig·ge·za yi·shai ve·ne·tzer mi·sha·ra·shavyif·reh.[5]
In ancient Hebrew texts, vowelswere not indicated, so a wider variety of readings was possible in Jerome's time. Herebranch/Nazarene is metaphorically "descendant" (ofJesse, father of KingDavid).Eusebius, a 4th-centuryChristian polemicist, also argued that Isaiah was the source ofNazarene. This prophecy by Isaiah was extremely popular in New Testament times and is also referred to inRomans andRevelation.[18]
The singular and plural formsArabic:نصراني,romanized: translit,lit. 'nasrani' andnasāra have puzzled modern scholars because they cannot be derived from any known Aramaic, Hebrew or Greek forms. They are speculated to be re-etymologizations made by ancientArab Christians, derived from theSemitic root n-S-r, meaning "to save", or "to deliver, to help" (and also "victory").[19][20] The Arabic name for the city ofNazareth,al-Nasira is also traceable to this same root.Nasrani is used in Arabic to refer to a Christian in general terms, as well as historically, more specifically to Nazoreans and also as anisbah for a person from Nazareth.[21] In modern Arabic though, the more common nisbah form for someone from Nazareth isNasrawi.
The termNazarene (Nazorean or Nazaraean) has been referred to in theJewish Gospels, particularly theHebrew Gospel, theGospel of the Nazarenes and theGospel of Matthew. It is also referred to in theGospel of Mark.[22]
Matthew consistently uses the variantNazorean. A link betweenNazorean and Nazareth is found in Matthew:
And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."[23]
The passage presents difficulties; no prophecy such as "He shall be called a Nazorean" is known in Jewish scripture, andNazorean is a new term, appearing here for the first time in association with Nazareth and, indeed, for the first time anywhere.
Matthew's prophecy is often linked to Isaiah's.[5] Although only Isaiah's prophecy gives 'branch' asne·tser, there are four other messianic prophecies where the word for branch is given astze·mach.[24] Matthew's phrase "spoken through the prophets" may suggest that these passages are being referred to collectively.[6] In contrast, the phrase "through the prophet", used a few verses above the Nazorean prophecy,[25] refers to a specific Old Testament passage.[26]
An alternative view suggests that a passage in theBook of Judges which refers toSamson as a Nazirite is the source for Matthew's prophecy.Nazirite is only one letter off fromNazorean in Greek.[7] But the characterization of Jesus in the New Testament is not that of a typical Nazirite, and it is doubtful that Matthew intended a comparison between Jesus and the amoral Samson.[7] ButNazorean can be a transliteration of the NZR, which also means 'ruler' (s. Gen 49,26), referring to Jesus as the new ruler of Israel.[27]
TheGospel of Mark, considered the oldest gospel, consistently usesNazarene, while scripture written later generally usesNazorean. This suggests that the form more closely tied toNazareth came first. Another possibility is that Mark used this form because the more explicitly messianic form was still controversial when he was writing. Before he was baptized, Mark refers to Jesus as "from Nazareth of Galilee",[28] whereas afterwards he is "the Nazarene".[29] In a similar fashion, second century messianic claimantSimon bar Kokhba (Aramaic for 'Simon, son of a star'), changed his name from Simon bar Kosiba to add a reference to theStar Prophecy.[30]
AfterTertullus (Acts 24:5), the second reference toNazarenes (plural) comes fromTertullian (208), the third reference fromEusebius (before 324), then extensive references inEpiphanius of Salamis (375) andJerome (circa 390).
Epiphanius additionally is the first and only source to write of another group with a similar name, the "Nasarenes" ofGilead andBashan inTrans-Jordan (Greek:Nasaraioi Panarion 18). Epiphanius clearly distinguishes this group from the Christian Nazarenes as a separate and different "pre-Christian" Jewish sect.[31] Epiphanius' explanation is dismissed as a confusion by some scholars (Schoeps 1911, Schaeder 1942, Gaertner 1957), or a misidentification (Bugge). Other scholars have seen some truth in Epiphanius' explanation and variously identified such a group with theMandeans,Samaritans, orRechabites.[32]
TheGospel of Philip, a third-centuryGnostic work,[33] claims that the wordNazarene signifies 'the truth':
"Jesus" is a hidden name, "Christ" is a revealed name. For this reason "Jesus" is not particular to any language; rather he is always called by the name "Jesus". While as for "Christ", in Syriac it is "Messiah", in Greek it is "Christ". Certainly all the others have it according to their own language. "The Nazarene" is he who reveals what is hidden. Christ has everything in himself, whether man, or angel, or mystery, and the Father....[34]The apostles who were before us had these names for him: "Jesus, the Nazorean, Messiah", that is, "Jesus, the Nazorean, the Christ". The last name is "Christ", the first is "Jesus", that in the middle is "the Nazarene". "Messiah" has two meanings, both "the Christ" and "the measured". "Jesus" in Hebrew is "the redemption". "Nazara" is "the Truth". "The Nazarene" then, is "the Truth". "Christ" [unreadable] has been measured. "The Nazarene" and "Jesus" are they who have been measured.[35]
Although the historianFlavius Josephus (AD 37 – c. 100) mentions 45 towns in Galilee, he never mentions Nazareth. But Josephus also writes that Galilee had 219 villages in all,[36] so it is clear that most village names have gone unrecorded in surviving literature. Nazareth was overshadowed by nearby Japhia in his time, so Josephus might not have thought of it as a separate town.[37] The earliest known reference to Nazareth outside the New Testament and as a contemporary town is bySextus Julius Africanus, who wrote around AD 200.[38] Writers who question the association of Nazareth with the life of Jesus suggest thatNazorean was originally a religious title and was later reinterpreted as referring to a town.[39]
The numbers in parentheses are fromStrong's Concordance.
The first confirmed use ofNazarenes (in GreekNazoraioi) occurs fromTertullus beforeAntonius Felix.[40] One such as Tertullus who did not acknowledgeIesous ho Nazoraios ('Jesus of Nazareth') asIesous ho Christos ('Jesus the Messiah') would not call Paul's sectChristianoi ('followers of the Messiah').[41]
In Acts,Paul the Apostle is called "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazoreans",[9] thus identifyingNazorean with Christian. Although bothChristianios (by Gentiles) andNazarenes (by Jews) appear to have been current in the 1st century, and both are recorded in the New Testament, the Gentile nameChristian appears to have won out againstNazarene in usage among Christians themselves after the 1st century. Around 331Eusebius records that from the nameNazareth Christ was called aNazoraean, and that in earlier centuries Christians were once called Nazarenes.[42]Tertullian (Against Marcion 4:8) records that "for this reason the Jews call us 'Nazarenes'. The first mention of the termNazarenes (plural) is that ofTertullus in the first accusation of Paul (Acts 24:5), thoughHerod Agrippa II (Acts 26:28) uses the termChristians, which had been "first used inAntioch." (Acts 11:26), and is acknowledged in1 Peter 4:16.[43] Later Tertullian,[44]Jerome,Origen and Eusebius note that the Jews call ChristiansNazarenes.
"The Christ of the Creator had to be called a Nazarene according to prophecy; whence the Jews also designate us, on that very account, Nazarenes after Him."– Tertullian, Against Marcion 4.8)[45]
The Aramaic and Syriac word for Christians used by Christians themselves isKristyane (Syriacܟܪܣܛܝܢܐ), as found in the following verse from thePeshitta:
Acts 11:26b.ܡܢ ܗܝܕܝܢ ܩܕܡܝܬ ܐܬܩܪܝܘ ܒܐܢܛܝܘܟܝ ܬܠܡܝܕܐ ܟܪܣܛܝܢܐ ..
Transcription:.. mn hydyn qdmyt ᵓtqryw bᵓnṭywky tlmydᵓ krsṭynᵓ.
Translation: The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch
Likewise "but if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in this name" (1 Peter 4:16), and early Syriac church texts.
However, in the statement of Tertullus in Acts 24:5,Nazarenes and inJesus of Nazareth are bothnasraya (ܢܨܪܝܐ) in Syrian Aramaic, whileNasrat (ܢܨܪܬ ) is used for Nazareth.[46][47][48] This usage may explain transmission of the nameNasorean as the name of the Mandaeans leaving Jerusalem for Iraq in theHaran Gawaita of theMandaeans.Saint Thomas Christians, an ancient community inIndia who claim to trace their origins to evangelistic activity ofThomas the Apostle in the 1st century, are sometimes known by the nameNasrani even today.[49][50]
Although Arab Christians referred to themselves asمسيحيMasīḥī (fromمسيحMasīḥ, 'Messiah, Christ'), the termNazarene is used in theArabic as singularNaṣrani (Arabic:نصراني, 'a Christian') and pluralNaṣara (Arabic:نصارى, 'Nazarenes, Christians') to refer to Christians in general. The termNaṣara is used many times in theQur'an when referring to them. For example, SuratAl-Baqara (Verse No. 113) says:
2:113. The Jews say the (Naṣara) Nazarenes are not on anything, and the (Naṣara) Nazarenes say it is the Jews who are not on anything. Yet they both read the Book. And those who do not know say like their saying. Allah will judge between them their disputes on the Day of Resurrection.
— Hassan Al Fathi QaribullahQur'an Translation, Al-Baqara 113
In the Qur'an however Nasrani is used as a verb, not a noun coming from the Arabic rootn-ṣ-r, meaning champion, or supporter, the meaning is elucidated on inSurah Al-Imran, Aya 50-52 where the prophet Isa, asks who will become supporters of me (Ansar-i) for the sake of God, the Hawariyun (the Apostles\ Followers) answer that they will become the Ansar. The same root comes in reference to theAnsar, those that sheltered the prophetMuhammad inYathrib.
InRabbinic and contemporaryIsraelimodern Hebrew, the termNotzrim (plural) (Hebrew:נוצרים), or singularNotzri (נוצרי) is the general official term for 'Christians' and 'Christian',[51] although manyMessianic Jews preferMeshiykiyyim (Hebrew:משיחיים) 'Messianics', as used in mostHebrew New Testament translations to translate theGreekChristianoi.[52][53]
The first Hebrew language mentions ofNotzri (singular) andNotzrim (plural) are in manuscripts of theBabylonian Talmud; these mentions are not found in theJerusalem Talmud.[54]Notzrim are not mentioned in older printed editions of the Talmud due to Christian censorship of Jewish presses.[55]Notzrim are clearly mentioned in Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta'anit 27b, and may be reconstructed in other texts such as Gittin 57a.[56]
Samuel Klein (1909)[58] proposed that the passage inGittin ('Documents') 57a, which is one of the most controversial possible references toJesus in the Talmud, may also have included reference to "Yesu ha Notzri" warning his followers, theNotzrim, of his and their fate.[59]
An additional possible reference in the Tosefta where the text may have originally readNotzrim ('Christians') rather thanMitzrim ('Egyptians')[60] is "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia[61] of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west." where medical aid from a certain Jacob, or James, is avoided.[62]
There are noTannaitic references toNotzrim and few from theAmoraic period.[63] References byTannaim (70–200 CE) andAmoraim (230–500 CE) toMinim are much more common, leading some, such asR. Travers Herford (1903), to conclude thatMinim in Talmud and Midrash generally refers to Jewish Christians.[64]
The references toNotzrim in the Babylonian Talmud are related to the meaning and person ofYeshu Ha Notzri ('Jesus the Nazarene') in the Talmud andTosefta.[55] This includes passages in the Babylonian Talmud such as Sanhedrin 107b which states "Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic and led Israel astray" though scholars such as Bock (2002) consider the historicity of the event described is questionable.[65][66] The Jerusalem Talmud contains other coded references to Jesus such as "Jesus ben Pantera",[67] while the references using the termnotzri are restricted to the Babylon Talmud.[68][69] (See main articleJesus in the Talmud for further discussion).
Two fragments of theBirkat haMinim ('Curse on the heretics') in copies of theAmidah found in theCairo Geniza includenotzrim in themalediction againstminim.[70][71][72]Robert Herford (1903) concluded thatminim in the Talmud andMidrash generally refers toJewish Christians.[73]
The early medieval rabbinical textToledoth Yeshu (History of Jesus) is a polemical account of the origins of Christianity which connects thenotzrim ('Nazarenes') to thenetzarim ('watchmen' Jeremiah 31:6) of Samaria. TheToledot Yeshu identifies the leader of thenotzrim during the reign ofAlexander Jannaeus as a rebellious student mentioned in theBaraitas (traditions outside the Mishnah) as "Yeshu ha-Notzri".[citation needed] This is generally seen as a continuation of references toJesus in the Talmud[74] although the identification has been contested, as Yeshu ha-Notzri is depicted as livingcirca 100 BCE.[75] According to theToledot Yeshu theNotzrim flourished during the reign of theHasmonean queenAlexandra Helene Salome amongHellenized supporters ofRome inJudea.[76]
The termNotzrim continued to be used of Christians in the medieval period.Hasdai Crescas, one of the most influential Jewish philosophers in the last years of Muslim rule in Spain,[77] wrote a refutation of Christian principles in Catalan which survives asSefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim ('Refutation of Christian Principles').[78]
As said above, inModern Hebrew the wordNotzrim (נוצרים) is the standard word forChristians, butMeshiykhiyyim (Hebrew:משיחיים) is used by many Christians of themselves, as in the BFBS New Testament ofFranz Delitzsch; 1 Peter 4:16 "Yet if any suffer asha-Meshiykhiyyim (Hebrew:משיחיים), let them not be ashamed, but let them glorify God in that name."[79][80] In the Hebrew New TestamentTertullus' use ofNazarenes (Acts 24:5) is translatedNotzrim, andJesus of Nazareth is translatedYeshu ha Notzri.[81]
Pliny the Elder mentioned a people called theNazerini in hisHistoria Naturalis (Book V, 23).[82] Bernard Dubourg (1987) connects Pliny'sNazerini with early Christians, and Dubourg dates Pliny's source between 30 and 20 BCE and, accounting for the lapse of time required for the installation in Syria of a sect born in Israel/Judea, suggests the presence of a Nasoraean current around 50 BCE.[83] Pliny the Elder indicates[84] that theNazerini lived not far from Apamea, in Syria in a city called Bambyx, Hierapolis or Mabog. However it is generally thought that this people has no connection to either Tertullus' description of Paul, nor to the later 4th centuryNazarenes.[85] Pritz, following Dussaud, connects Pliny's 1st century BCE Nazerini, to the 9th century CENusairis.[citation needed]
The testimonies ofEpiphanius,Philastrius, andPseudo-Tertullian may all draw in part from the same lost anti-heretical works ofHippolytus of Rome, mentioned as theSyntagma byPhotius, andAgainst all Heresies byOrigen andJerome.[86]
Epiphanius mentions a sect called the Nasaraeans (Nasaraioi), whom he distinguishes from the Jewish-Christian sect of the Nazoraeans (Nazoraioi). He reports them as having pre-Christian origins.[87] He writes: "(6,1) They did not call themselves Nasaraeans either; the Nasaraean sect was before Christ, and did not know Christ. 6,2 But besides, as I indicated, everyone called the Christians Nazoraeans," (Adversus Haereses, 29.6).[88] The sect was apparently centered in the areas ofCoele-Syria,Galilee andSamaria, essentially corresponding to the long-defunctKingdom of Israel.[89] According to Epiphanius they rejectedtemple sacrifice and theLaw of Moses, but adhered to other Jewish practices. They are described as being vegetarian.[90] According to him they were Jews only by nationality who lived inGilead, Basham, and theTransjordan. They reveredMoses but, unlike the pro-TorahNazoraeans, believed he had received different laws from those accredited to him.
Epiphanius' testimony was accepted as accurate by some 19th-century scholars, includingWilhelm Bousset,Richard Reitzenstein andBultmann.[citation needed] However Epiphanius testimony in this regard, which is second-hand, is in modern scholarship read with more awareness of his polemical objectives to show that the 4th century Nazarenes and Ebionites were not Christian.[91]
TheMandaeans of Iraq and Iran use the termNasoraean in their scroll, theHaran Gawaitha, to describe their origins in, and migration from Jerusalem: "And sixty thousand Nasoraeans abandoned the Sign of the Seven and entered the Median Hills, a place where we were free from domination by all other races."...[92]
Theories on the origins of the Mandaeans have varied widely. During the 19th and early 20th centuriesWilhelm Bousset,Richard Reitzenstein andRudolf Bultmann argued that the Mandaeans were pre-Christian, as a parallel of Bultmann's theory that Gnosticism predated the Gospel of John.[93] Hans Lietzmann (1930) countered with the argument that all extant texts could be explained by a 7th-century exposure to, and conversion to, an oriental form of Christianity, taking on such Christian rituals as a Sunday Sabbath.Mandaean lead amulets have been dated to as early as the 3rd Century CE and the first confirmed Mandaean scribe using colophons copied theLeft Ginza around the year 200 CE.[94]: 4
Scholars of Mandaeans considered them to be of pre-Christian origin.[95] They claimJohn the Baptist as a member (and onetime leader) of their sect; theRiver Jordan is a central feature of their doctrine ofbaptism.[96][97][98]
Bloise was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).