One of the most striking things connected with Nazareth is the fact that it is not referred to at all in the Old Testament, nor does Josephus allude to it, although he was at one time governor of Galilee and must have been familiar with the towns and villages of the district. It may be assumed that before the days of Christ it was but little known and was a place of no importance. After his times a long period elapsed before it figures in recorded history, and then its part was anything but an important one.
Even the term Galilee is of comparatively rare occurrence in the Scriptures; it is mentioned twice in Joshua, twice in the books of the Kings, and once in the Chronicles; beyond these, the only allusion to it is in the well-known prophecy of Isaiah, referred to below. On three of the occasions where it is found in the historical books it is only named to identify the Kadesh of the north from other places bearing the same name; so that there are really only three independent allusions to it in the Old Testament. Of these three the first is accompanied by an expression of dissatisfaction from Hiram of Tyre, because Solomon had presented him with twenty cities in the land of Galilee—he called them Cabul—whilst the second records that its inhabitants were carried away by the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser.
The allusion by the prophet Isaiah reads as follows: “In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time hath He made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” These words fitly strike the key-note to all that is known of Nazareth, as well as of Galilee as a whole.
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Author: W. H. Boulton
Keywords: Nazareth of Galilee, Nazareth, Nazarene, Galilee
Bible reference(s): Matthew 2:23, Matthew 4:13, Matthew 21:11, Matthew 26:71, Mark 1:9, Mark 1:24, Mark 10:47, Mark 14:67, Mark 16:6, Luke 1:26, Luke 2:4, Luke 2:39, Luke 2:51, Luke 4:16, Luke 4:34, Luke 18:37, Luke 24:19, John 1:45, John 1:46, John 18:5, John 18:7, John 19:19, Acts 2:22, Acts 3:6, Acts 4:10, Acts 6:14, Acts 10:38, Acts 22:8, Acts 26:9
Source: “Nazareth of Galilee,” The Testimony, Vol. 4, No. 37, January 1934, pp. 7-11.
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