Nazareth

==Etymology==

===Hebrew {{transliteration|he|Netzer}}===
One view holds that the name 'Nazareth' is derived from one of the Hebrew words for 'branch', namely {{transliteration|he|ne·ṣer}}, {{wikt-lang|he|&rlm;נצר&lrm;|&rlm;נֵ֫צֶר&lrm;}},{{efn|The other is {{wikt-lang|he|&rlm;צמח&lrm;|&rlm;צֶמַח&lrm;}} {{transliteration|he|tsémakh}}.}} and alludes to the prophetic, messianic words in [[Book of Isaiah]] 11:1: "from (Jesse's) roots a Branch [{{transliteration|he|netzer}}] will bear fruit".<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|11:1|HE}}</ref> One view suggests this [[toponym]] might be an example of a tribal name used by resettling groups on their return from exile.<ref>Bargil Pixner, cited in Paul Barnett'', Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times, ''InterVarsity Press, 2002 p. 89, n. 80.</ref> Alternatively, the name may derive from the verb {{transliteration|he|na·ṣar}}, {{lang|he|נָצַר}}, 'watch, guard, keep",<ref>"...if the word ''Nazareth'' is be derived from Hebrew at all, it must come from this [Hebrew] root [i.e. 'to watch']" ([[Selah Merrill|Merrill, Selah]], (1881) ''Galilee in the Time of Christ'', p. 116. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs, ''The Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon'' (1906/2003), p. 665.</ref> and understood either in the sense of 'watchtower' or 'guard place', implying the early town was perched on or near the brow of the hill, or, in the passive sense as 'preserved, protected' in reference to its secluded position.<ref>R. H. Mounce, "Nazareth", in Geoffrey W. Bromiley (ed.) ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', Vol. 3 Eerdmans Publishing 1986, pp. 500–501.</ref> The negative references to Nazareth in the [[Gospel of John]] suggest that ancient Jews did not connect the town's name to prophecy.<ref>Bauckham, Jude, ''Jude, Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church'', pp. 64–65. See {{bibleverse|John|1:46}} and {{bibleverse|John|7:41–42}}</ref>

===Greek {{transliteration|grc|Nazara}}===
Another theory holds that the Greek form {{wikt-lang|grc|Ναζαρά}} ({{transliteration|grc|Nazará}}), used in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and [[Gospel of Luke]], may derive from an earlier [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] form of the name, or from another [[Semitic language]] form.<ref name=Carruthp417>Carruth, 1996, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8ZnM0bt4CEC&pg=PA415 417] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163521/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8ZnM0bt4CEC&pg=PA415 |date=28 May 2021 }}.</ref> If there were a ''[[tsade]]'' (צ) in the original Semitic form, as in the later Hebrew forms, it would normally have been transcribed in Greek with a ''[[sigma]]'' (σ) instead of a ''[[zeta]]'' (ζ).<ref name=Carruthp415>{{cite book|title=Q 4:1–13,16: the temptations of Jesus : Nazara|first1=Shawn|last1=Carruth|first2=James McConkey|last2=Robinson|first3=Christoph|last3=Heil|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=1996|isbn=90-6831-880-2|page=415}}</ref> This has led some scholars to question whether "Nazareth" and its cognates in the New Testament actually refer to the settlement known traditionally as Nazareth in Lower [[Galilee]].<ref>T. Cheyne, "Nazareth", in Encyclopaedia Biblica, 1899, col. 3358 f. For a review of the question see H. Schaeder, "Nazarenos, Nazoraios", in Kittel, ''Theological Dictionary of the New Testament'', IV:874 f.</ref> Such linguistic discrepancies may be explained, however, by "a peculiarity of the 'Palestinian' Aramaic dialect wherein a sade (ṣ) between two voiced (sonant) consonants tended to be partially assimilated by taking on a zayin (z) sound".<ref name=Carruthp415/>

===Arabic {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣira}}===
The Arabic name for Nazareth is {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣira}}, and Jesus ({{lang-ar|يَسُوع|Yasū'}}) is also called {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣirī}}, reflecting the Arab tradition of according people an [[nisba (onomastics)|attribution]], a name denoting whence a person comes in either geographical or tribal terms. In the [[Qur'an]], Christians are referred to as {{transliteration|ar|naṣārā}}, meaning "followers of {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣirī}}", or "those who follow Jesus of Nazareth".<ref name=Antounp50>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cn1gwQXfgkC&q=nasira+nazareth&pg=PA50|title=Syria: society, culture, and polity|first1=Richard T.|last1=Antoun|first2=Donald|last2=Quataert|editor1=[[Richard T. Antoun]]|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1991|isbn=9780791407134|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163525/https://books.google.com/books?id=9cn1gwQXfgkC&q=nasira+nazareth&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}</ref>