The City of Nazareth is most famously associated with the life of historical Jesus Christ. Jesus spent 30 of His 33-year long earthly life in this town. No wonder, why Jesus is called as 'Jesus of Nazareth' and the city of Nazareth as 'the City of Jesus'. In fact, in New Testament, out of the total 29 verses where Nazareth appears, 20 are associated with the phrase 'Jesus of Nazareth'. According to New Testament and Christian traditions, Nazareth is the hometown of St. Anne and Joachim, parents of the Virgin Mary. Here the Virgin lived her early life. Here also lived Joseph to whom she was betrothed. And it was in Nazareth, Annunciation occurred. Annunciation is the revelation to Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel that she would conceive the Son of God (Luke 1:26). It is here that Jesus spent most of his life on earth and here "he grew in wisdom" (Luke 2:52). Here Jesus went to the Synagogue to study the Torah (Luke 4:16) and worked with his own hands as a carpenter (Mark 6:3). And it is from here that he went to the Judean desert to get tempted by Satan and finally from here he started his public ministry to proclaim the "the word of God". However, Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith in Nazareth. It is written in the New Testament that: "Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith" (Mark 6:4-6).
In New Testament, Nazareth first appears in the Book of Mathew: "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" (2:23). Ironically, nowhere in the Old Testament did any of the prophets directly say: “He shall be called a Nazarene”. Moreover, Nazareth is not even mentioned once in the Old Testament. Even at the time of Jesus, Nazareth was so obscure that Nathanael, one of His future disciples responded "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Outside of the New Testament, Nazareth is never mentioned until the 4th Century AD! All these compel a few skeptics to speculate that Nazareth did not even exist at the time of Jesus! Christian Apologetics however assume that Matthew may have been thinking of the Prophet Isaiah, who prophesized the promised messiah as a 'branch from David'. "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (Isaiah 11:1-2). Since the Hebrew noun for 'branch' is "netzer", Christians believe this passage from Isaiah is what Mathew was referring to in his Gospel (Mathew 2:23). Alternatively, some believe that the word Nazareth is derived from the Hebrew verb natsar (to watch).
Archaeological evidences do strongly validate the existence of Nazareth from 2nd Century AD. However, from the time of Jesus (1st Cent AD) no significant archaeological evidences have been unearthed so far.
In New Testament, Nazareth first appears in the Book of Mathew: "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" (2:23). Ironically, nowhere in the Old Testament did any of the prophets directly say: “He shall be called a Nazarene”. Moreover, Nazareth is not even mentioned once in the Old Testament. Even at the time of Jesus, Nazareth was so obscure that Nathanael, one of His future disciples responded "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Outside of the New Testament, Nazareth is never mentioned until the 4th Century AD! All these compel a few skeptics to speculate that Nazareth did not even exist at the time of Jesus! Christian Apologetics however assume that Matthew may have been thinking of the Prophet Isaiah, who prophesized the promised messiah as a 'branch from David'. "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (Isaiah 11:1-2). Since the Hebrew noun for 'branch' is "netzer", Christians believe this passage from Isaiah is what Mathew was referring to in his Gospel (Mathew 2:23). Alternatively, some believe that the word Nazareth is derived from the Hebrew verb natsar (to watch).
Archaeological evidences do strongly validate the existence of Nazareth from 2nd Century AD. However, from the time of Jesus (1st Cent AD) no significant archaeological evidences have been unearthed so far.
{I have to change the previous statement. Yes after 45 days after this post was blogged, I have found the press report from the Israeli Antiquities Authority (21st December, 2009) announcing: "For the Very First Time: A Residential Building from the Time of Jesus was Exposed in the Heart of Nazareth"
Nazareth of Jesus at the best is speculated to be a small agricultural settlement with 20 families by modern scholars. Archaeologists have identified a cult center at Kfar HaHoresh, 3 km from Nazareth, dating back from 7000 BC! Moreover, excavations in 1950s and 1960s have uncovered remains in Nazareth from Middle Bronze Age (2200-1500 BC) and Iron Age (1500- 586 BC), providing ample evidences for the existence of Nazareth even before Christ. Why Nazareth was so insignificant outside New Testament is a mystery unexplained. In Israel, even today Jews call Christians as Notsri and Arabs by the word Nasara. Outside Israel for instance in India, the ancient Syrian Christian Community of Kerala is still known as Nasrani. All these provide enough clues to the high significance of Nazareth's association with Christianity. Modern Nazareth is not much Christian in its outlook although you do find several Churches and Christian institutes in the City. Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel. It is 70% Muslim and only 30% Christian in population. The relations between both communities are not friendly these days. There is also a Jewish Nazareth called Nazareth Illit located very near the Arab city. Nazareth Illit is more than 90% Jewish in its composition and was established in 1957.
What to See
Due to its strong Christian influence, there are several sites associated with Jesus in Nazareth. For Christians, the most important event that happened in Nazareth is the Annunciation, the announcement of Jesus’ birth to Virgin Mary by Archangel Gabriel. Sites associated with annunciation have been venerated from early 4th Century onwards. Today, you have at least three Churches dedicated for Annunciation, belonging to Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic Churches. The Catholic Church of Annunciation built over an ancient cave (Grotto of Annunciation) is the largest Church in the Middle East and the epicenter of Nazareth. The Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation preserves an ancient spring claimed to be the Spring of Virgin Mary where according to them Annunciation occurred. You can find Churches built over the Synagogue where Jesus taught (Synagogue Church), Carpentry Workshop of St: Joseph where Jesus worked (St: Joseph’s Church) and where Jesus appeared after resurrection to disciples (Mensa Christi). There is also a well in Nazareth in the name of Virgin (Mary’s Well), considered to be the one used by her and young Jesus. Not far from Nazareth (3 km) is a hill (Mount of Precipice) shown as the cliff from where Jesus was dragged to be thrown away by the people of Nazareth. Adjacent to this hill are remains of a Church built to commemorate Virgin Mary standing and watching this fearful incident (Church of Mary’s Fear). The lists keep on going. We managed to cover all these sites in just half a day, except the Mensa Christi Church which was hard to locate despite we tried our best. The next day was dedicated to explore nearby sites viz. Zippori, Mash’had and Kfar Kana. We walked 14 km of the “Jesus Trail” to experience these sites (Jesus Trail is a wonderful way to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in 4 days covering a total distance of 138 km). More details from these sites are appended with the photographs.
What to See
Due to its strong Christian influence, there are several sites associated with Jesus in Nazareth. For Christians, the most important event that happened in Nazareth is the Annunciation, the announcement of Jesus’ birth to Virgin Mary by Archangel Gabriel. Sites associated with annunciation have been venerated from early 4th Century onwards. Today, you have at least three Churches dedicated for Annunciation, belonging to Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic Churches. The Catholic Church of Annunciation built over an ancient cave (Grotto of Annunciation) is the largest Church in the Middle East and the epicenter of Nazareth. The Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation preserves an ancient spring claimed to be the Spring of Virgin Mary where according to them Annunciation occurred. You can find Churches built over the Synagogue where Jesus taught (Synagogue Church), Carpentry Workshop of St: Joseph where Jesus worked (St: Joseph’s Church) and where Jesus appeared after resurrection to disciples (Mensa Christi). There is also a well in Nazareth in the name of Virgin (Mary’s Well), considered to be the one used by her and young Jesus. Not far from Nazareth (3 km) is a hill (Mount of Precipice) shown as the cliff from where Jesus was dragged to be thrown away by the people of Nazareth. Adjacent to this hill are remains of a Church built to commemorate Virgin Mary standing and watching this fearful incident (Church of Mary’s Fear). The lists keep on going. We managed to cover all these sites in just half a day, except the Mensa Christi Church which was hard to locate despite we tried our best. The next day was dedicated to explore nearby sites viz. Zippori, Mash’had and Kfar Kana. We walked 14 km of the “Jesus Trail” to experience these sites (Jesus Trail is a wonderful way to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in 4 days covering a total distance of 138 km). More details from these sites are appended with the photographs.
Brief Itinerary.
25-09-2009.
6.45-Sede Boker-Metropolin 60
07.45-Beer Sheva-Metropolin 370
09.25-Tel Aviv-Egged 826
11.15-Ha-Pikud Junction, Nazareth
(Sites Visited in Nazareth: Mount Precipice, Church of Annunciation, Synagogue Church, Mary's Well, St: Gabriel Church, Nazareth Old City. {Stayed one night at Fauzi Azar Inn, Nazareth})
26-09-2009.
08.00-Walking Jesus Trail First Day (Nazareth to Kfar Kana-18 km)-14.25.
(Walking from Nazareth to Zippori (National Park) to Mash'had and to Kfar Kana {Cana Wedding Church}).
14.25-Kfar Kana-Sherut (Shared Taxi) to Nazareth
13.15-Nazareth-17.30
17.30-Nazareth-Sherut (Shared Taxi) to Tel Aviv
19.00-Tel Aviv-Metropolin 370
20.30-Beer Sheva-Metropolin 60
21.30-Sede Boker.
MORE DETAILS LATER...
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