Nazareth

==New Testament references==
In the Gospel of Luke, Nazareth is first described as "a town of Galilee" and home of [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|1:26}}</ref> Following the birth and early epiphanial events of chapter 2 of Luke, Mary, [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] and Jesus "returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth".<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|2:39|NKJV}}</ref>

The phrase "Jesus of Nazareth" appears seventeen times in English translations of the New Testament, whereas the Greek original contains the form "Jesus the {{transliteration|grc|Nazarēnos}}" or "Jesus the {{transliteration|grc|Nazōraios}}."{{efn|{{lang|grc|Ναζαρηνός}} ('Nazarene') and its permutations are at Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6; Luke 4:34 and 24:19. {{lang|grc|Ναζωραῖος}} ('Nazōraean') and its permutations are at Matthew 2:23; 26:71; Luke 18:37; John 18:5, 7; 19:19; and six times in Acts of the Apostles.}} One plausible view is that {{transliteration|grc|Nazōraean}} ({{lang|grc|Ναζωραῖος}}) is a normal Greek adaptation of a reconstructed, hypothetical term in [[Jewish Aramaic]] for the word later used in Rabbinical sources to refer to Jesus.{{efn|According to G.F. Moore, the Hebrew {{transliteration|he|Nôṣri}}, the [[gentilic]] used of Jesus from the [[Tannaim|Tannaitic period]] onwards, would have corresponded to a hypothetical Jewish Aramaic {{transliteration|arc|*Nōṣrāyā}}, which would have in turn produced {{transliteration|arc|*N{{sup|e}}ṣōrāyā}}. A normal adaptation of this in Greek would yield {{transliteration|grc|Nazoraios}}.<ref>In Carruth p.404</ref><ref>G.F.Moore, 'Nazarene and Nazareth,' in ''The Beginnings of Christianity 1/1,'' 1920 pp.426–432</ref>}} "Nazaréth" is named twelve times in surviving Greek manuscript versions of the New Testament, 10 times as {{transliteration|grc|Nazaréth}} or {{transliteration|grc|Nazarét}},<ref>Textual evidence suggests this form is an emendation made during the secondary process of synoptic standardization. Shawn Carruth, James McConkey Robinson, Christoph Heil, ''Q 4:1–13,16: The Temptations of Jesus: Nazara,'' p.395</ref> and twice as {{transliteration|grc|Nazará}}.<ref name="Carruthp415"/> The former two may retain the 'feminine' endings common in Galilean toponyms.<ref name="Carruthp415"/> The minor variants, {{transliteration|grc|Nazarat}} and {{transliteration|grc|Nazarath}} are also attested.{{efn|{{transliteration|grc|Nazarat/Nazarath}} are attested in a few Greek manuscripts, while the Syriac versions read {{transliteration|syc|Nazarath}}.<ref>''Q 4:1–13,16: The Temptations of Jesus: Nazara,'' p.402.</ref>}} {{transliteration|grc|Nazara}} ({{lang|grc|Ναζαρά}}) might be the earliest form of the name in Greek, going back to the putative [[Q document]]. It is found in Matthew 4:13<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|4:13}}</ref> and Luke 4:16.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Luke|4:16}}</ref><ref name="Carruthp415"/> {{dubious|date=January 2013}} However, the [[Textus Receptus]] clearly translates all passages as {{lang|la|Nazara}}, leaving little room for debate there.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3478&t=KJV|title = Blue Letter Bible: Lexicon|access-date = 13 January 2013|archive-date = 24 November 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121124112900/http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3478&t=KJV|url-status = live}}</ref>

Many scholars have questioned a link between "Nazareth" and the terms "[[Nazarene (sect)|Nazarene]]" and "[[Nazoraean]]" on linguistic grounds,<ref>Cheyne in 1899 Ency. Biblica, "Nazareth"; Lidzbarski [Kittel p. 878]; Kennard [JBL 65:2,134 ff.]; Berger [Novum Test. 38:4,323], ''et multi.''</ref> while some affirm the possibility of etymological relation "given the idiosyncrasies of [[Galilean Aramaic]]."<ref>S. Chepey, "Nazirites in Late Second Temple Judaism" (2005), p 152, referring to W. Albright, G. Moore, and H. Schaeder.</ref>