True or False! Is Jesus actually from Nazareth?

Question

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]

Christians call him " Jesus of Nazareth" - don't they?

We know where he was born.

to Lin B: Nazarene is not Nazareth.

Did anyone done some SERIOUS research before answering??

Answer 1

Anyone who reads the Gospel according to Matthew will notice that Matthew goes to great lengths to point out how each incident in the life of Jesus fulfills some prophecy.

Matthew 2:23: 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.

No part of the Old Testament mentions that the Messiah would be from Nazareth, so evidently some person who was regarded as a prophet at the time of Matthew's writing, but whose writings are lost to us today, said the Messiah would be from Nazareth.

Answer 2

Yada yada yada.

The land of Galilee (think of it in terms of a county) certainly existed; the prophet Jonah was from that area. It may have been a later settlement, even a small town, so these arguements are spurious at best. Josephus would have focused on the areas of stragetic/political importance, so his "not mentioning" Nazareth isn't surprising.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth. When He reached manhood, he moved for a while to Capernaum (by the Sea of Tiberius). There would have been no reason for the writers of the Gospels to "make up" a Judean town, when there were plenty of real ones around to choose from! Especially as they preached to Judean Jews, a fictional city would have been a MAJOR red flag to their listeners.

That a few authors do NOT mention any one place by name, makes a poor arguement. This is called the "arguement from silence", and is a rotton way to make ANY point. It is like saying "The Constitution of the US doesn't specifically protect my neighbor's hobby of stamp collecting, therefore it is ok to destroy it."

Answer 3

Well, the Christs had him in Bethlehem, and then cut out for Egypt right after Christmas. Then they moved back at some point, I suppose to Nazareth, or wherever it was.

Is it important? Probably the name got lost in the translation.

Answer 4

Religions are all based on faith, like Mathematics is based on the belief of there being a zero or infinity, (which there probably isn't). You can find plenty of holes in the Bible if you look for them, but that isn't any huge reason to doubt the power of prayer or forgiveness and trust in God.

Answer 5

True. Talk about a case of teachers with itching ears!

Answer 6

"Does any good thing come from Nazarene" isn't that what someone in the bible said about Jesus?

Answer 7

We have all been bested by the Fat Mack ATTACK.

Answer 8

true