Nazareth

This article is about the Israeli/Arab city of Nazareth. For other uses, see Nazareth (disambiguation).

Nazareth (IPA: [ˈnæzərəθ]) (Arabic الناصرة an-Nāṣira lit. the victorious one; Hebrew נָצְרַת, Standard Hebrew Náẓərat, Tiberian Hebrew Nāṣəraṯ) is an ancient town in Israel. In the New Testament, it is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical associations. Today, Nazareth is the capital of the North District of Israel, as well as the largest Arab Israeli city in Israel.

Etymology

The etymology of Nazareth from as early as Eusebius up until the 20th century has been said to derive from netser, a "shoot" or "sprout", while the apocryphal Gospel of Phillip derives the name from Nazara meaning "truth". There is speculation and biblical indication that Nazarene meaning "of the village of Nazareth", was confused with "Nazirite," meaning a "separated" Jew who had taken a vow of holiness.

Geography and population

Coordinates: 32°42′07″N, 35°18′12″E Modern-day Nazareth is nestled in a hollow plateau some 1,200 feet (350m) above sea level, located between 1,600 foot high hills that form the most southerly points of the Lebanon mountain range.^[1] It is about 25 km from the Sea of Galilee and about 9 km west from Mount Tabor. The main road for traffic between Egypt and the interior of Asia passes by Nazareth near the foot of Tabor, and thence northward to Damascus.

Nazareth has an estimated population of 70,000. The majority of residents are Arab citizens of Israel, about 35-40% of whom are Christians and 55-60% are Muslims. The adjacent city of Nazareth Illit has a population of 44,000 Israeli Jews.

History

Earliest History & Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological research has revealed a funerary and cult center at Kfar HaHoresh, about two miles from Nazareth, dating roughly 9000 years ago (in what is known as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B era).^[2] The remains of some 65 individuals were found, buried under huge horizontal headstone structures, some of which consisted of up to 3 tons of locally-produced white plaster. Decorated human skulls found have led archaeologists to believe that Kfar HaHoresh was a major cult center in that remote era.^[3]

“Nazareth is not mentioned in ancient Jewish sources earlier than the third century AD. This likely reflects its lack of prominence both in Galilee and in Judaea,” writes American archaeologist James Strange.^[4] Strange variously estimates Nazareth’s population at “roughly 1,600 to 2,000 people” in the time of Christ, and in another publication at “a maximum of about 480.” ^[5] However, some historians argue that the absence of textual references to Nazareth in the Old Testament and the Talmud, as well as the works of Josephus, suggest that a town called 'Nazareth' did not exist in Jesus' day.^[6] The latter view is supported by the results of the excavations at Nazareth which do not furnish evidence from Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic or Early Roman times,^[7] despite many claims to the contrary made in the literature.^[8] B. Bagatti (the principle archaeologist at the venerated sites in Nazareth) has unearthed quantities of later Roman and Byzantine artefacts,^[9] attesting to unambiguous human presence there from the 2nd century AD onward. Thus, it is possible that the town of Nazareth came into existence only with the spread of Christianity.

In the mid-1990s, shopkeeper Elias Shama discovered tunnels under his shop near Mary’s Well in Nazareth. The tunnels were eventually recognized as a hypocaust (a space below the floor into which warm air was pumped) for a bathhouse. The site was excavated in 1997-98 by Y. Alexandre, and the archaeological remains exposed were ascertained to date from the Middle Roman, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. ^[10][11][12]

A tablet currently at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, dating to 50 AD, was sent from Nazareth to Paris in 1878. It contains an inscription known as the "Ordinance of Caesar" that outlines the penalty of death for those who violate tombs or graves. However, it is suspected that this inscription came to Nazareth from somewhere else (possibly Sepphoris). Bagatti writes: “we are not certain that it was found in Nazareth, even though it came from Nazareth to Paris. At Nazareth there lived various vendors of antiquities who got ancient material from several places.”^[13] C. Kopp is more definite: "It must be accepted with certainty that [the Ordinance of Caesar]... was brought to the Nazareth market by outside merchants."^[14]

Jack Finegan describes additional archaeological evidence related to settlement in the Nazareth basin during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and adds that "Nazareth was a strongly Jewish settlement in the Roman period."^[15] The critical question now under scholarly debate is when in the Roman period Nazareth came into existence, that is, whether settlement there began before or after 70 AD (the First Jewish War).

New Testament Times and Associations

According to the New Testament, Nazareth was the home of Joseph and Mary and the site of the Annunciation, when Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she would have Jesus as her son. Nazareth is also assumed to be where Jesus grew up from his infancy to manhood.

In John 1:46, Nathaniel asks, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" The meaning of this cryptic question is debated. Some commentators suggest that it means Nazareth was very small and unimportant. But the question does not speak of Nazareth’s size but of its goodness. In fact, Nazareth was viewed with hostility by the evangelists, for it did not believe in Jesus and “he could do no mighty work there” (Mk 6:5). In all four gospels we read the famous saying, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” (Mt 13:57; Mk 6:4; Lk 4:24; Jn 4:44). In one passage the Nazarenes even attempt to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff (Lk 4:29). Many scholars since W. Wrede (in 1901)^[16] have noted the so-called “Messianic secret,” whereby Jesus’ true nature and mission were unseen by many, including by his inner circle of disciples (Mk 8:27-33; cf. only those to whom the Father reveals Jesus will be saved, Jn.6:65; 17:6, 9, etc.). Nazareth, being the home of those near and dear to Jesus, apparently suffered negatively in relation to this doctrine. Thus, Nathanael’s question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” is consistent with a negative view of Nazareth in the canonical gospels, and with the fact that even Jesus’ brothers did not believe him (Jn 7:5).

Non-biblical textual references to Nazareth are late and problematic. They do not occur until around 200 AD, when Julius Africanus, cited by Eusebius (Church History 1.7.14), speaks of “Nazara” as a village in "Judea" and locates it near an as-yet unidentified “Cochaba.” This curious description does not fit the traditional location of Nazareth in Lower Galilee.^[17] In the same passage Africanus writes of desposunoi, or relatives of Jesus, who he claims “kept the records of their descent with great care.” Later texts referring to Nazareth are equally problematic. One from the tenth century alleges that a certain martyr named Conon died in Pamphylia under Decius (249-251), and declared at his trial: "I belong to the city of Nazareth in Galilee, and am a relative of Christ whom I serve, as my forefathers have done." ^[18] This Conon has been shown to be legendary.^[19]

In 1962, a Hebrew inscription found in Caesarea, dating to the late 3rd or early 4th century, mentions Nazareth as one of the places in which the priestly family of Hapizzez was residing after Bar Kokhba's revolt (132-135 AD).^[20] From the three fragments that have been found, it is possible to show that the inscription was a complete list of the twenty-four priestly courses (cf. 1 Chronicles 24:7-19; Nehemiah 24:1-21), with each course (or family) assigned its proper order and the name of each town or village in Galilee where it settled. An interesting aspect of this inscription is that the name for Nazareth is not spelled with the "z" sound (as one would expect from the Greek gospels) but with the Hebrew tsade (thus "Nasareth" or "Natsareth").

Epiphanius writes in the Panarion (c. 375 AD)^[21] of a certain elderly Count Joseph of Tiberias, a wealthy Jew who converted to Christianity in the time of Constantine. Count Joseph claimed that as a young man he built churches in Sepphoris and other towns that were inhabited only by Jews.^[22] Nazareth is mentioned, though the wording is not clear.^[23] In any case, Joan Taylor writes: "It is now possible to conclude that there existed in Nazareth, from the first part of the fourth century, a small and unconventional church which encompassed a cave complex."^[24] The town was Jewish until the sixth century.^[25]

In the 6th century, legends about Mary began to spark interest in the site among pilgrims, who founded the Church of the Annunciation at the site of a freshwater spring, today known as St. Mary's Well. In 570, the Anonymous of Piacenza reports travelling from Sepphoris to Nazareth and refers to the beauty of the Hebrew women there, who say that St. Mary was a relative of theirs, and records: "The house of St. Mary is a basilica" (P. Geyer, Itinera Hierosolymitana saeculi, Lipsiae: G. Freytag, 1898: page 161).

Jerome, writing in the 5th century, says it was a viculus or mere village.

Islamic Rule

The Muslim conquest of Palestine in 637 AD during the early medieval period eventually led to the First Crusade, which began an extended period of conflict. Control over Galilee and Nazareth shifted frequently during this time, with corresponding impact on the religious makeup of the population.

In 1099 AD, the Crusader Tancred captured Galilee and established his capital in Nazareth. The ancient diocese of Scythopolis was also relocated under the Archbishop of Nazareth. The town returned to Muslim control in 1187 AD following the victory of Saladin in the Battle of Hattin.

Christian control of the area resumed in 1229 AD as part of the events of the Sixth Crusade, but ended in 1263 AD with the destruction of all Christian buildings by the Sultan Baibars and the expulsion of the Christian population until Fakhr-al-Din II permitted their return in 1620 AD.

1947-1948

The 1947 UN Partition Plan placed Nazareth near the southern border within the northernmost portion of the proposed Palestinian State. At the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the attacking armies crossed the international borders into territory of the proposed Jewish State. Nazareth was not a field of battle before the first truce on June 11, although some of the villagers had joined the loosely organized peasant resistance forces, and troops from the Arab Liberation Army had entered Nazareth. During the ten days of fighting which occurred between the first and second truce, Nazareth capitulated July 16 to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel, after little more than token resistance. The surrender was formalized in a written agreement, where the town leaders agreed to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including brigade commander Ben Dunkelman, (the leader of the operation), that no harm would come to the civilians of the town. A few hours later Chaim Laskov gave order to Dunkelman to evacuate the civilian population of Nazareth. Dunkelman refused to obey these orders. In sharp contrast to the surrounding towns, the Arab inhabitants in Nazareth were therefore never forced out.^[26] However, the influx of Muslim Arab refugees from the surrounding villages and towns that were destroyed changed the population of Nazareth from having a Christian majority to having a Muslim majority.

Current Events

Preparations for the Pope's visit to Nazareth in 2000 triggered highly publicized tensions related to the Basilica of the Annunciation. The 1997 permission for construction of a paved plaza to handle the expected thousands of Christian pilgrims caused Muslim protests and occupation of the proposed site, which is considered the grave of a nephew of Saladin. This site used to be the home of a school built during the Ottoman rule. The school was named al-harbyeh (in arabic means military), and many elderly people in Nazareth still remember it as the the school site, never the less, the same site still contains,the Shihab-Eddin shrine, along with several shops owned by the Waqf (Muslim community ownership. This means the land is partly waqf (Islamic religious endowment)land. The school building continued to serve as a government school until it was demolished to allow for the plaza to be built. The initial argument between the different political factions in town (represented in the local council), was on where the borders of the shrine and shops starts and where it ends. The initial government approval of subsequent plans for a large mosque to be constructed at the site led to protests from Christian leaders worldwide, which continued after the papal visit. Finally, in 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque. ^{[27] [28]} In March 2006, public protests that followed the disruption of a Lenten prayer service by an Israeli Jew and his Christian wife and daughter, who detonated incendiary devices inside the church, ^[29] succeeded in dismantling a temporary wall that had been erected around the public square that had been constructed but had yet to be unveiled, putting an end to the entire controversy.

On July 19, 2006 a rocket fired by the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah as part of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict killed two children in Nazareth. No holy sites were damaged.^[30]

Nazareth's football (soccer) team, Maccabi Akhi Nazareth, plays in the Nationwide League.

Religious Shrines

Nazareth is home to many churches which are its chief tourist attractions. The most important commemorate biblical events.

• The Church of the Annunciation is the largest Christian church building in the Middle East. In Roman Catholic tradition, it marks the site where the Archangel Gabriel announced the future birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-31).
• The Eastern Orthodox Church constructed St. Gabriel's Church at an alternative site for the Annunciation.
• The Melkite Greek Catholic Church owns the Synagogue Church, which is located at the traditional site of the synagogue where Jesus preached (Luke 4)
• The Church of St. Joseph's Carpentry occupies the traditional location for the workshop of Saint Joseph
• The Mensa Christi Church, run by the Franciscan religious order, commemorates the traditional location where Jesus dined with the Apostles after his Resurrection
• The Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent, run by the Salesian religious order, occupies a hill overlooking the city.

Contrary Views

Some historians have called the city's traditional association with the life of Jesus into question, suggesting instead that what was originally a title (Nazarene) was corrupted into the name of his hometown (alternately, Nazara or Nazaret or Nazareth). Alfred Loisy, for example, in The Birth of Christianity argues that Iesous Nazarene meant not "from Nazareth", but rather that his title was "Nazarene."

• Alternatively, there is biblical indication that Nazarene was a mistranslation of Nazarite, a person who had taken a vow of holiness and was thus 'separated out' from the masses. Matt. 2:23 says of Yeshua` (Jesus), "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." Not only is there no word translated ‘Nazarene’, as well as no reference to a city of 'Nazareth' in the Hebrew Scriptures, but reference bibles state that the prophecy cited in Matt. 2:23 is in reference to Judges 13:5 concerning Samson's description as a Nazarite.

Frank Zindler, managing editor of the American Atheist Press, has asserted that Nazareth did not exist in the first century.^[31] His arguments include the following:

• No "ancient historians or geographers mention [Nazareth] before the beginning of the fourth century [AD]."^[32]
• Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, the Talmud, nor in the Apocrypha and it does not appear in any early rabbinic literature.
• Nazareth was not included in the list of settlements of the tribes of Zebulon (Joshua 19:10-16) which mentions twelve towns and six villages
• Nazareth is not included among the 45 cities of Galilee that were mentioned by Josephus (37AD-100AD).
• Nazareth is also missing from the 63 towns of Galilee mentioned in the Talmud.

References

1. ^ Mariam Shahin (2005). Palestine: A Guide.. Interlink Books.. 
2. ^ Goring-Morris, A.N. “The quick and the dead: the social context of Aceramic Neolithic mortuary practices as seen from Kfar HaHoresh.” In: I. Kuijt (ed.), Social Configurations of the Near Eastern Neolithic: Community Identity, Hierarchical Organization, and Ritual (1997).
3. ^ Pre-Christian Rituals at Nazareth. Archaeology: A Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America (November/December 2003).
4. ^ Article “Nazareth” in the Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
5. ^ E. Meyers & J. Strange, Archaeology, the Rabbis, & Early Christianity Nashville: Abingdon, 1981; Article “Nazareth” in the Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
6. ^ T. Cheyne, “Nazareth.” Encyclopedia Biblica. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1899, Col. 3360. R. Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus. New York: Penguin Books, 1997, p. 952. F. Zindler, The Jesus the Jews Never Knew New Jersey: American Atheist Press, 2003, pp. 1-2.
7. ^ C. Kopp, “Beiträge zur Geschichte Nazareths.” Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, vol. 18 (1938), p. 188. F. Fernandez, Ceramica Comun Romana de la Galilea. Madrid: Ed. Biblia y Fe, 1983, p. 63. N. Feig, “Burial Caves in Nazareth,” ‘Atiqot 10 (1990), pp. 67-79 (Hebrew).
8. ^ B. Bagatti, “Ritrovamenti nella Nazaret evangelica.” Liber Annuus 1955, pp. 5-6, 23. B. Bagatti, “Nazareth,” Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplement VI. Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1960, col. 318. Bagatti, B. Excavations in Nazareth Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, vol. 1 (1969), pp. 254, 319. “Nazareth” in Encyclopedia Judaica, New York: Macmillan, 1972, col. 900.
9. ^ Bagatti, B. Excavations in Nazareth, vol. 1 (1969), pp. 272-310.
10. ^ Alexandre, Y. “Archaeological Excavations at Mary’s Well, Nazareth,” Israel Antiquities Authority bulletin, May 1, 2006.
11. ^ Cook, Jonathon (22 October 2003). Is This Where Jesus Bathed?. The Guardian.
12. ^ Cook, Jonathan. (17 December 2002.). Under Nazareth, Secrets in Stone.. International Herald Tribune..
13. ^ Bagatti, B. Excavations in Nazareth, vol. 1 (1969), p. 249.
14. ^ C. Kopp, “Beiträge zur Geschichte Nazareths.” Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, vol. 18 (1938), p. 206, n.1.
15. ^ The Archaeology of the New Testament, Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1992: pages 44-46.
16. ^ W. Wrede, Das Messiasgeheimnis in der Evangelien(1901), English translation, The Messianic Secret, Cambridge: J. Clarke, 1971
17. ^ Several possible Cochabas have been identified: one fifteen kilometers north of Nazareth (on the other side of Sepphoris); one in the region of Bashan (to the East of the Jordan River); and two near Damascus. See J. Taylor, Christians and the Holy Places. Oxford: 1993, pp. 36-38 (with map).
18. ^ Clemens Kopp, Die heiligen Stätten der Evangelien [The Holy Places of the Gospels]. Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1959, p. 90.
19. ^ Joan Taylor, Christians and the Holy Places. Oxford: 1993, p. 243.
20. ^ It is often supposed that the Hapizzes went to Nazareth after the First Jewish Revolt (70 AD), but R. Horsley has pointed out that "the date of resettlement may well be well into the second (or even the third) century [AD]." History and Society in Galilee, 1996, p. 110. It was in 131 AD that the Roman Emperor Hadrian forbade Jews to reside in Jerusalem (Aelia Capitolina), thus forcing them elsewhere.
21. ^ Pan. I.136. Panarion in Greek. The text was translated into Latin with the title Adversus Haereses.
22. ^ Pan. 30.4.3; 30.7.1.
23. ^ Compare Pan.30.11.10 and 30.12.9. (Migne Patrologia Graeco-Latina vol. 41:426-427; Williams, F. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book I. E. J. Brill 1987, pp. 128-29).
24. ^ Taylor, J. Christians and the Holy Places. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993, p. 265.
25. ^ Taylor 229, 266; Kopp 1938:215.
26. ^ Peretz Kidron (1988). Blaming the Victims. Verso Books. 
27. ^ Final Bar on Controversial Nazareth Mosque. Catholic World News (March 4, 2002).
28. ^ Nazareth mosque will not be built next to the Basilica of the Annunciation. Israel Insider (March 4, 2002).
29. ^ Thousands of Israeli Arabs protest attack. USA Today (March 4, 2006).
30. ^ Rocket attacks kill two Israeli Arab children. Reuters (July 19, 2006).
31. ^ Zindler, F. "Where Jesus Never Walked," American Atheist, Winter 1996-97, pp. 33-42.
32. ^ Zindler, F. "Where Jesus Never Walked," American Atheist, Winter 1996-97, p. 34.

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