Nazareth

A small town in Lower Galilee to which Joseph moved with his wife and child Jesus after their return from Egypt (Matt 2:23) and in which he spent most of his adult life until he moved to Capernaum soon after the start of his ministy. According to Luke, Nazareth was also the city of residence of Joseph and Mary in which the birth of Jesus was announced by the angel Gabriel (Lk 1:26; 2:4; 29). It was in the city synagogue, where, after reading the scoll of the prophet Isaiah, he pronounced, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4:16; cf Isa 61:1-2). Characteristically, Jesus is called "Jesus of Nazareth" in the Gospels; the plaque ordered by Pilate to be fastened to the cross read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (Jn 19:19).

Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament and was, famously, not important enough to make the list of sixty-three Galilean town mentioned in the Talmud. This is not surprising; Nathanael was not impressed when Philip told him that they had found the Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (Jn 1:46). This in itself is also not surprising since it was located too close to the city of Sepphoris, a Roman governmental centre and Herod the Great's headquarters in the north.

Today Nazareth is a busy crowded tourist town, populated by Arabs and centered around the Church of Annunciation.

Modern city of Nazareth

Click here to read G. A. Smith's account of Nazareth from his The Historical Geography of the Holy Land.