Various etymologies of ' Nazareth ' have been proposed. The idea that it means ' consecrated,' ' devoted to God ' ( from iij, whence Nazirite), or that it denotes ' my Saviour' ("is'J), may be dismissed at once. Equally improbable is the notion that it embodies a Messianic name, ' the Shoot,' or ' the Sprout' (nsj), which is found in Is 11'. The most likely suggestion is that it signifies ' Watch-tower ' (from n-i^j, Aram. n-\^i, niaj, a name which would be given first to the hill, and then to the town built on its flank.
Acting on a hint of WelUiausen's (Israelitische unci jiidische Geschichte, 1894, p. 222, footnote 3), T. K. Cheyne has tried to conjure ' the city of Nazareth ' out of existence, leaving the sacred name as a mere synonym of ' Galilee ' {EBi iii. 3358 f.), but his reasoning, as G. A. Barton remarks in JE, is ' in the highest degree precarious.'
Literature. — A. P. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine"^, 1912 ; V. Gu^rin, Description q^og. dela Palestine, pt. iii. : * Galilee,' 1880; F. Buhl, GAP, 1896; W. Sanday, Sacred Sites of the Gospels, 1903 ; K. Baedeker, Palestine and Syria, 1912, p. 246.
James Strahan. NAZIRITE — A Nazirite ( AV incorrectly ' Nazar- ite') was one dedicated to God and bound by avow, the nature of which is explained below.
1. The name. — The primary significance of the Hebrew i\i ndzar (not used in Qal) is ' to separate.' Hence the i'\z nfizir is ' the separated, consecrated, or devoted one.' The same word in the form n'zir is found in Syriac, where it is used, e.g., of maidens consecrated to the service of Belthis (see W. R. Smith, BS'', p. 483). In Gn 49-* ndzir is applied to Joseph, ' him who was separate from his brethren.' In La 4' 'her Nazarites' (AV) probably means 'her nobles' (RV). Usually, however, the name nazir is to be understood in the technical sense of one separated by the taking, or imposition, of a peculiar vow. One of the marks of the Nazirite was his unshorn locks. Hence the word ndzir was sometimes used in the general sense of ' un- trimmed' or ' unshorn.' In Lv 25'- " it is used of an undressed vine, and in Jer T^ it refers probably to unshorn hair, without implying the Nazirite vow.
2. The Yow.— In Nu 6'--' we have the law of the Nazirite. He was bound ( 1 ) to abstain from the use of wine, strong drink, and all products of the vine ' from the kernels even to the husk ' (vv. '■ '') ; (2) to ' let the locks of the hair of his head grow ' unshorn (v.5) ; (3) to avoid contact with any dead body (vv.*- '). From the instructions given to the mother
of Samson (Jg 13*) some add, as a fnurlh mark of the Nazirite, abstinence from unclean food. But this wa.s a precept for all .lews, and cannot be ri^garded as in any way a peculiar mark of the Nazirite. No doubt it may be said to follow from the third point above, that the Nazirite would be careful to guard against all ceremonial defilement.
If hy mishap the Nazirite were defiled by contact with tlie deau, he had to go through a )irocess of ceremonial cleansing, shaving his head and bring- ing a sin-oll'ering, a burnt-olfering, and a trespass- offering, and then begin the original period of his Naziriteship de novo (Nu 6'''-). , From the same passage it is clear that both men and women might take the vow (v.-).
3. Development of Naziritism. — It does not lie within the scope of this article to set forth com- |)letcly the probable rise and evolution of Nazirit- ism, or to argue fully the various problems involved. The reader must consult IIDB or JK. Here we simply indicate the most likely way along which Naziritism advanced till it became the complicated phenomenon it presents in the period w^ith which we deal.
It is quite clear, and may be said to be generally admitted, that the legislation of Nu 6 does not create Naziritism, but regulates it. It is already in existence, with probably a long history behind it. Premising that its earliest history is quite unknown to us, we may say that it makes its first recorded appearance with Samson (Jg 13). He was a ' Nazirite unto God from the womb.' Now the only part of the regulations of Nu 6 that we can affirm with certainty to have been observed by Samson is that prohibiting the cutting of the hair. Quite certainly all the stress is laid on that in his history. His mother, indeed, is commanded to abstain from wine till he be born, but there is no evidence in the stories that there was anything of the ascetic about Samson himself. It is clear that the prohibition against contact with the dead couki not have held for him (Jg 14").
When we come to the time of Amos, we find that abstinence from wine is most emphasized. ' Ye gave the Nazirites wine todrink' (2'-). It is quite clear that by this time abstinence from wine is essential to the Nazirite. Nu 6 gives equal emphasis to both points, and adds the requirement of ceremonial purity with reference to the dead.