Quotes & Notes on:    Matthew 2:23 John Wesley's Notes: He came and dwelt in Nazareth-(where he had dwelt before he went to Bethlehem) a place contemptible to a proverb. So that hereby was fulfilled what has been spoken in effect by several of the prophets, (though by none of them in express words,) He shall be called a Nazarene-that is, he shall be despised and rejected, shall be a mark of public contempt and reproach   Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: * Nazareth. Joh 18:5; 19:19; Ac 2:22 * He shall. Mt 26:71; Nu 6:13; Jg 13:5; 1Sa 1:11; Ps 69:9,10; Isa 53:1,2 Am 2:10-12; Joh 1:45,46; Ac 24:5   Adam Clarke's Commentary:  At the first sight, it seems of little consequence to know the place of Christ's nativity; for we should consider him as our Redeemer, whatever the circumstances might be which attended his mortal life. But, seeing it has pleased God to announce, beforehand, the place where the Saviour of the world should be born, it became necessary that it should happen precisely in that place; and that this should be one of the characteristics whereby Jesus Christ should be known to be the true Messiah.   Family Bible Notes:   Nazareth; a place very much despised. Nazarene; one exceedingly despised, as the prophets foretold that Jesus Christ would be. Isa 53:2,3. The fulfilment of prophecy in the person of Christ proves him to be the true Messiah.   1599 Geneva Bible Notes: (No comment on this verse)   People's New Testament Commentary:  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. Matthew makes no mention of the previous residence at Nazareth, and he now names it first when it becomes the home of Christ. It was an obscure village, nestled in the hills about five hundred feet above the plain of Esdraelon, on the side of Galilee. It is not named in the Old Testament, was probably a small town in the time of Christ, but now has about six thousand inhabitants. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. Not by one prophet, but the summing up of a number of prophecies. No prophet had declared in express terms that he should be called a Nazarene. They, however, did apply to Christ the term Nezer, from which Nazareth is derived; the Nazarites, of whom Samson was one, were typical of Christ; the meanness and contempt in which Nazareth was held was itself a prophecy of one who "was despised and rejected." See Isa 53:3; 11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zec 3:8; 6:12.   Robertson's Word Pictures:   Should be called a Nazarene (Nazôraios klêthêsetai). Matthew says "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets" (dia tôn prophêtôn). It is the plural and no single prophecy exists which says that the Messiah was to be called a Nazarene. It may be that this term of contempt (Joh 1:46; 7:52) is what is meant, and that several prophecies are to be combined like Ps 22:6,8; 69:11,19; Isa 53:2,3,4. The name Nazareth means a shoot or branch, but it is by no means certain that Matthew has this in mind. It is best to confess that we do not know. See Broadus on Matthew for the various theories. But, despised as Nazareth was at that time, Jesus has exalted its fame. The lowly Nazarene he was at first, but it is our glory to be the followers of the Nazarene. Bruce says that "in this case, therefore, we certainly know that the historic fact suggested the prophetic reference, instead of the prophecy creating the history." The parallels drawn by Matthew between the history of Israel and the birth and infancy of Jesus are not mere fancy. History repeats itself and writers of history find frequent parallels. Surely Matthew is not beyond the bounds of reason or of fact in illustrating in his own way the birth and infancy of Jesus by the Providence of God in the history of Israel.   Albert Barnes' Commentary:    Nazareth. This was a small town, situated in Galilee, west of Capernaum, and not far from Cana. It was built partly in a valley, and partly on the declivity of a hill, Lu 4:29. A hill is yet pointed out, to the south of Nazareth, as the one from which the people of the place attempted to precipitate the Saviour. It was a place, at that time, proverbial for wickedness, Joh 1:46. It is now a large village, with a convent and two churches. One of the churches, called the church of the Annunciation, is the finest in the Holy Land, except that of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A modern traveller describes Nazareth as situated upon the declivity of a hill, the vale which spreads out before it resembling a circular basin, encompassed by mountains. Fifteen mountains appear to meet to form an enclosure for this beautiful spot, around which they rise like the edge of a shell, to guard it against intrusion. It is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of barren mountains. Another traveller speaks of the streets as narrow and steep; the houses, which are fiat-roofed, are about two hundred and fifty in number, and the inhabitants he estimates at 2000. The population of the place is variously stated, though the average estimate is 3000; of whom about five hundred are Turks, and the residue nominal Christians. As all testimony to the truth and fidelity of the sacred narrative is important, we have thought ourselves justified in connecting with this article a passage from the journal of Mr. Jowett, an intelligent modern traveller; especially as it is so full an illustration of the passage of Luke already cited: "Nazareth is situated on the side, and extends nearly to the foot, of a hill, which, though not very high, is rather steep and overhanging. The eye naturally wanders over its summit, in quest of some point from which it might probably be that the men of this place endeavoured to east our Saviour down, (Lu 4:29) but in vain: no rock adapted to such an object appears here. At the foot of the hill is a modest, simple plain, surrounded by low hills, reaching in length nearly a mile; in breadth, near the city, a hundred and fifty yards; but farther south, about four hundred yards. On this plain there are a few olive and fig trees, sufficient, or rather scarcely sufficient, to make the spot picturesque. Then follows a ravine, which gradually grows deeper and narrower towards the south; till, after walking about another mile, you find yourself in an immense chasm, with steep rocks on either side, from whence you behold, as it were beneath your feet, and before you, the noble plain of Esdraelon. Nothing can be finer than the apparently immeasurable prospect of this plain, bounded on the south by the mountains of Samaria. The elevation of the hills on which the spectator stands in this ravine is very great; and the whole scene, when we saw it, was clothed in the most rich mountain-blue colour that can be conceived. At this spot, on the right hand of the ravine, is shown the rock to which the men of Nazareth are supposed to have conducted our Lord, for the purpose of throwing him down. With the Testament in our hands, we endeavoured to examine the probabilities of the spot; and I confess there is nothing in it which excites a scruple of incredulity in my mind. The rock here is perpendicular for about fifty feet, down which space it would be easy to hurl a person who should be unawares brought to the summit; and his perishing would be a very certain consequence. That the spot might be at considerable distance from the city is an idea not inconsistent with St. Luke's account; for the expression, thrusting Jesus out of the city, and leading him to the brow of the hill, on which their city was built, gives fair scope for imagining, that in their rage and debate the Nazarenes might, without originally intending his murder, press upon him for a considerable distance after they had quitted the synagogue. The distance, as already noticed, from modern Nazareth to the spot, is scarcely two miles; a space which, in the fury of persecution, might soon be passed over. Or, should this appear too considerable, it is by no means certain but that Nazareth may at that time have extended through the principal part of the plain, which I have described as lying before the modern town. In this case, the distance passed over might not exceed a mile. I can see, therefore, no reason for thinking otherwise, than that this may be the real scene where our Divine Prophet, Jesus, received so great a dishonour from the men of his own country and of his own kindred." Mr. Fisk, an American missionary, was at Nazareth in the autumn of 1823. His description Corresponds generally with that of Mr. Jowett. He estimates the population to be from 3000 to 5000, viz., Greeks, three hundred or four hundred families; Turks, two hundred; Catholics, one hundred; Greek Catholics, forty or fifty; Maronites, twenty or thirty; say in all seven hundred houses. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, etc. The words here are not found in any of the books of the Old Testament; and there has been much difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of this passage. Some have supposed that Matthew meant to refer to Jg 13:5, to Samson as a type of Christ; others that he refers to Isa 11:1, where the descendant of Jesse is called "a Branch;" in the Hebrew Netzer. Some have supposed that Matthew refers to some prophecy which was not recorded, but handed down by tradition. But these suppositions are not satisfactory. It is a great deal more probable that Matthew refers not to any particular place, but to the leading characteristics of the prophecies respecting him. The following remarks may make this clear: 1st. He does not say, "by the prophet, as in Mt 1:22; 2:5,15; but "by the prophets," meaning no one particularly, but the general character of the prophecies. 2nd. The leading and most prominent prophecies respecting him were, that he was to be of humble life, to be despised, and rejected. See Isa 53:2,3,7-9,12; Ps 22:1. 3rd. The phrase "he shall be called," means the same as he shall be. 4th. The character of the people of Nazareth was such that they were proverbially despised and contemned, Joh 1:46; 7:52. To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, and esteemed of low birth; to be a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness. And this was the same as had been predicted by the prophets. When Matthew says, therefore, that the prophecies were fulfilled, it means, that the predictions of the prophets that he should be of humble life, and rejected, were fully accomplished in his being an inhabitant of Nazareth, and despised as such.   Jamieson-Faussett Brown:   And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth--a small town in Lower Galilee, lying in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, and about equally distant from the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Sea of Galilee on the east. Note--If, from Lu 2:39, one would conclude that the parents of Jesus brought Him straight back to Nazareth after His presentation in the temple--as if there had been no visit of the Magi, no flight to Egypt, no stay there, and no purpose on returning to settle again at Bethlehem--one might, from our Evangelist's way of speaking here, equally conclude that the parents of our Lord had never been at Nazareth until now. Did we know exactly the sources from which the matter of each of the Gospels was drawn up, or the mode in which these were used, this apparent discrepancy would probably disappear at once. In neither case is there any inaccuracy. At the same time it is difficult, with these facts before us, to conceive that either of these two Evangelists wrote his Gospel with that of the other before him--though many think this a precarious inference. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene--better, perhaps, "Nazarene." The best explanation of the origin of this name appears to be that which traces it to the word netzer in Isa 11:1 --the small twig, sprout, or sucker, which the prophet there says, "shall come forth from the stem (or rather, 'stump') of Jesse, the branch which should fructify from his roots." The little town of Nazareth, mentioned neither in the Old Testament nor in JOSEPHUS, was probably so called from its insignificance: a weak twig in contrast to a stately tree; and a special contempt seemed to rest upon it--"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (Joh 1:46) --over and above the general contempt in which all Galilee was held, from the number of Gentiles that settled in the upper territories of it, and, in the estimation of the Jews, debased it. Thus, in the providential arrangement by which our Lord was brought up at the insignificant and opprobrious town called Nazareth, there was involved, first, a local humiliation; next, an allusion to Isaiah's prediction of His lowly, twig-like upspringing from the branchless, dried-up stump of Jesse; and yet further, a standing memorial of that humiliation which "the prophets," in a number of the most striking predictions, had attached to the Messiah.   Spurgeon Commentary: Our Lord was called “Netzar”, THE BRANCH. Probably this is the prophecy referred to; for “Nazareth “signifies sprouts or shoots. Possibly some unrecorded prophecy, often repeated by the prophets, and known to all the people, is here alluded to. Certainly he has long been called a “Nazarene”, both by Jews and violent unbelievers. Spitting on the ground in disgust, many a time has his fierce adversary hissed out the name “Nazarene”, as if it were the height of contempt. Yet, O Nazarene, thou hast triumphed!  "Jesus of Nazareth" is the greatest name among men. O Lord, my King, as thou art dishonored by thy foes, so shalt thou be adored among thy friends, with all their heart and all their soul. While others call thee “Nazarene”, we call thee Jesus — Jehovah, King of kings, and Lord of lords.   William Burkitt's Notes: A threefold interpretation is given of these words, He shall be called a Nazarene. Some read the words, 1. He shall be called a Nazarite. The Nazarites were a religious and separate rank of persons among the Jews, who abstained from wine, and came not near the dead, for fear of pollution. Christ was a holy person, but no Nazarite, in a strict sense; for he drank wine, and touched the dead. 2. Others read the words, He shall be called a Netzer, a branch, in allusion to Isa 11:1 where he is called a branch of the root of Jesse. Christ was that true branch of which the prophets had so often spoken. 3. Others will will have the word Nazarene refer to the city of Nazareth, where Christ was conceived, and lived most of his time, He shall be called a Nazarene, because he dwelt at Nazareth. Hence his disciples were called the sect of the Nazarenes; that is, the followers of him that dwelt at Nazareth; and Christ himself is pleased to own the title, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Ac 22:8 Learn from hence, The great humility of mind that was found in our Savior. He was born at Bethlehem, a little city; he lived at Nazareth, a poor, contemptible place: he aspired not after the grandeur of the world, but was meek and lowly in spirit. May the same humble mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus!   Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary: (No comment on this verse)   The Fourfold Gospel: The prophets. Matthew uses the plural, "prophets," because this prophecy is not the actual words of any prophet, but is the general sense of many of them. We have noted three kinds of prophecy (see TFG for Mt 2:17); this is the fourth kind, namely: one where the very trend or general scope of Scripture is itself a prophecy. That he should be called a Nazarene. The Hebrew word netzer means "branch" or "sprout." It is used figuratively for that which is lowly or despised (Isa 17:9; Eze 15:1-6; Mal 4:1). See also Joh 15:6; Ro 11:21. Now, Nazareth, if derived from netzer, answered to its name, and was a despised place (Joh 1:45,46), and Jesus, though in truth a Bethlehemite, bore the name Nazarene because it fitly expressed the contempt of those who despised and rejected him.

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