Nazareth
    n 1: a historic town in northern Israel that is mentioned in the
         Gospels as the home of Joseph and Mary

Nazareth
   separated, generally supposed to be the Greek form of the Hebrew
   _netser_, a "shoot" or "sprout." Some, however, think that the
   name of the city must be connected with the name of the hill
   behind it, from which one of the finest prospects in Palestine
   is obtained, and accordingly they derive it from the Hebrew
   _notserah_, i.e., one guarding or watching, thus designating the
   hill which overlooks and thus guards an extensive region.
   
     This city is not mentioned in the Old Testament. It was the
   home of Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:39), and here the angel
   announced to the Virgin the birth of the Messiah (1:26-28). Here
   Jesus grew up from his infancy to manhood (4:16); and here he
   began his public ministry in the synagogue (Matt. 13:54), at
   which the people were so offended that they sought to cast him
   down from the precipice whereon their city was built (Luke
   4:29). Twice they expelled him from their borders (4:16-29;
   Matt. 13:54-58); and he finally retired from the city, where he
   did not many mighty works because of their unbelief (Matt.
   13:58), and took up his residence in Capernaum.
   
     Nazareth is situated among the southern ridges of Lebanon, on
   the steep slope of a hill, about 14 miles from the Sea of
   Galilee and about 6 west from Mount Tabor. It is identified with
   the modern village en-Nazirah, of six or ten thousand
   inhabitants. It lies "as in a hollow cup" lower down upon the
   hill than the ancient city. The main road for traffic between
   Egypt and the interior of Asia passed by Nazareth near the foot
   of Tabor, and thence northward to Damascus.
   
     It is supposed from the words of Nathanael in John 1:46 that
   the city of Nazareth was held in great disrepute, either
   because, it is said, the people of Galilee were a rude and less
   cultivated class, and were largely influenced by the Gentiles
   who mingled with them, or because of their lower type of moral
   and religious character. But there seems to be no sufficient
   reason for these suppositions. The Jews believed that, according
   to Micah 5:2, the birth of the Messiah would take place at
   Bethlehem, and nowhere else. Nathanael held the same opinion as
   his countrymen, and believed that the great "good" which they
   were all expecting could not come from Nazareth. This is
   probably what Nathanael meant. Moreover, there does not seem to
   be any evidence that the inhabitants of Galilee were in any
   respect inferior, or that a Galilean was held in contempt, in
   the time of our Lord. (See Dr. Merrill's Galilee in the Time of
   Christ.)
   
     The population of this city (now about 10,000) in the time of
   Christ probably amounted to 15,000 or 20,000 souls.
   
     "The so-called 'Holy House' is a cave under the Latin church,
   which appears to have been originally a tank. The 'brow of the
   hill', site of the attempted precipitation, is probably the
   northern cliff: the traditional site has been shown since the
   middle ages at some distance to the south. None of the
   traditional sites are traceable very early, and they have no
   authority. The name Nazareth perhaps means 'a watch tower' (now
   en-Nasrah), but is connected in the New Testament with Netzer,
   'a branch' (Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 3:8; 6:12; Matt. 2:23),
   Nazarene being quite a different word from Nazarite."
   

Nazareth, separated; crowned; sanctified

Nazareth, PA -- U.S. borough in Pennsylvania
   Population (2000):    6023
   Housing Units (2000): 2658
   Land area (2000):     1.671277 sq. miles (4.328588 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    1.671277 sq. miles (4.328588 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            52808
   Located within:       Pennsylvania (PA), FIPS 42
   Location:             40.739993 N, 75.311214 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     18064
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Nazareth, PA
    Nazareth

Nazareth, TX -- U.S. city in Texas
   Population (2000):    356
   Housing Units (2000): 140
   Land area (2000):     0.348287 sq. miles (0.902058 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    0.348287 sq. miles (0.902058 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            50496
   Located within:       Texas (TX), FIPS 48
   Location:             34.543571 N, 102.102183 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     79063
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Nazareth, TX
    Nazareth