II Possibly 'Ebionites' (Heb. D'fvnx = ' poor men') was a more general term, and may have been given by Jewish-Chris- tians to themselves. See art. Ebionism.
LiTERATiRE. — The artt. ' Nazareth,' ' Nazarene ' in Hastings' DB, the EBl, and JE ; ' Nazareth ' (by Guthe) in PRE'^ and in Hamburger'? HE ; the Connn. on Mt 2-3 (esp. Zahn, 191(3) ; J. Halevy, Etudes ^uanrjeliques, vol. i. p. 231 f. (on NccZapxto; : i most valuable and suggestive essay. Halevy suggests the derivation of NxZapx'ior from the Aram, word adopted above) ; Neiibauer, G('oij. du Talinitd, 1868; Biesenthal on Mt 2'-^* {Sacred Lit. 1»59). Tlie bizarre theory as to the existence of pre-Christian ' Nazarenes ' set forth by W. B. Smith, Der our- christliche Jesus (1906), does not call for discission here.
G. H. Box.
NAZARETH (Nafapd, 'Na^apdr, Nafape^, Nafapfr). — The town of Nazareth, the modern cn-Na..sira, was situated in Lower Galilee, 5^ miles almost due west of Mount Tabor, and nearly as far in a south- westerly direction from Kefr Kenna, tlie site tiiat is usually identified witii Cana of Galilee. The road that a.scends from the latter place winds througii the high valley in which Nazareth lies, and divides a short distance south of the town, tlie .sou til-eastern branch finding its way to Jezreel, and thence down tlie valley to Beth-sliean and the Jordan, the western crossing the low pass of tlie Samaritan hills, by ancient Megiddo, to join eventu- ally the great trunk road north and soutli, on the plain by the sea. The town itself, however, lay retired from the great highways of commerce, though within easy reach, almost witliin sight of them ; and its secluded position explains the absence of any mention of Nazareth in tlie OT or Joseplius. The modern village, with a population of seven or eight thousand, clings to the foot of the hill. But the ancient town seems to have spiead considerably higher up the slope, and from ' the brow of the hill on which the city was built ' (Lk 4-"), 1600 ft. above tlie level of the sea, one of the finest views in Palestine is said to be obtained, embracing on the one side the valley of tlie Jordan and the mountains of Gilead, and on the other the blue waters of the Mediterranean.*
That in our Lord's time Nazareth was a jilace of considerable importance is indicated by tlie fact that it is alwa\ s referred to in the NT as a city (ttoXis, Mt 223, Lk 12G 2*- 3a) not a village (^-w/x7;). It was in touch with, but not harassed by the currents of popular, commercial, or political life. And there appears to be no real justification for the belief that Nazareth or its people were in any sense insignificant or despised, t The words of Nathanael (Jn l^*"), which have given currency to this view, are perliaps misunderstood. He must himself have shared the universally accepted belief that the Clirist could come only from Bethlehem (cf. Mt2^, Jn T'*-) ; and if his language is intended to expre.ss disdain, it is no more than that of tlie polisiied town-dweller for the uncultivated rural jjopulation who know nothing of his artificial rules of propriety and manners. As to the Athenian every native of Bceotia was a dullard, so to the refined habitue of Jerusalem the rustic of Galilee may well have appeared uncouth and contemptible. These characteristics might not improbably liave become accentuated in the case of Nazareth, owing to its witiidrawn position in a self-contained upland valley. Under any circumstances Nathanael's words bear witness only to a personal opinion, and are no evidence of a widespread or general belief.
With the exception of the events of the early ministry recorded in Lk 4'8*''-, the direct references to Nazareth in the Gospels are all associated with the birth and boyhood of Jesus. It was to Nazareth that the angel Gabriel was sent, to Mary
* For a description of Nazareth and its site see G. A. Smith, HGHL, London, 1894, p. 432 ff. ; Baedeker's Palestine ; PEF Memoirs, i. pp. 262 f., 275-79, 328 f. ; A. P. Stanlev, SP, London, 1860, p. 365 ff. ; cf. W. Sanday, Sacred Sites of the Gospels, Oxford, 1903, p. 49 f., with plates ; Ramsay, Edxication of Christ, p. 47.
t See especially Selah Merrill, Galilee in the Time of Christ, London, 1!386, chs. xvii. xviii.
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His mother (Lk 1-^) ; and thither His parents came to find a home after the flight into Egypt (Mt 2-^). From Nazareth they journeyed into Judaea for the purpose of the lloman enrohnent (Lk 2^), re- turning to the same city when the requirements of the Jewish law for the j)urihcation of Mary had l)een satisfied (2^**). Twelve years later a similar visit to Jerusalem, in accordance with His parents' annual practice (2^"-), and return to Nazareth (v.^^), make it evident tiiat the home during this period had been at the latter town. On tlie occasion of His baptism, it is from Nazareth tliat, according to St. Mark (!'•*), Christ came to the Jordan ; the other Synoptists merely state that the journey was made from Galilee (Mt S'-*), or name no place (Lk 3^'). His early life, therefore, was spent at Nazareth, and only in consequence of the opposition aroused by His preaching in tlie syn.agogue and the murderous attempt upon His life (Lk 4-^') did He abandon Nazareth and take up His abode at Capernaum (Mt 4'-*). Thenceforward He does not appear to have visited, or to have had any direct relations witii. His former home. Its name, however, continued to cling to Him, and by that designation He is known to the 'multitudes' at Jerusalem at the Passover, the stranger-pilgrims from Galilee His native province (Mt 21"). Philip uses the name when he calls Nathanael to Jesus (Jn 1*^) ; and later in the history it is emploj'ed by Peter at Civsarea (Ac 10^) as a well-known title with which Gentiles also would be familiar.