Shall be called a Nazarene

What is meant in 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.” Where might we find this in the Prophets? Perhaps in an unrecorded prophecy? Or is it a reference to the branch (נֵצֶר nḗṣer)?

ü Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch [נֵצֶר] shall grow out of his roots…

Or is the Messiah to be one of the watchman (נֹצֵר nōṣēr ‘guardian’ active participle of נָצַר nāṣar ‘guard, save’) who will undo the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

ü Jeremiah 31:6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen [נֹצְרִים] upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

Interesting that נֹצְרִים nōṣərim is the name by which the Israelis refer to Christians.

There is no reference to Nazareth in the Tanakh, nevertheless the name of the city has the tzadi (ṣ) in the Semitic languages: נָצְרַת‎‎ nāṣərat in Hebrew; ܢܳܨܪܰܬ݂ nāṣrat in the Peshitta; الناصرة an-nāṣira for today’s Arab town. The Geez name was ናዝሬት nāzrēt (with ዘ [z]) and appears to be a transliteration of the Greek name. The Shem Tob Matthew similarly cites with ז (z), e.g., נאזרית “Nazareth” and נאזרת “Nazarene” in Matthew 2:23.[1] The earliest Hebrew reference is from an inscription in an ancient synagogue in Caesarea Maritima that was discovered in 1962. The spelling is the familiar נצרת. See Avi-Yonah (1962).

The Greek words have a zeta (ζ)—Ναζαρέτ “Nazareth” and Ναζωραῖος “Nazarene” in Matthew 2:22—which doesn’t reflect the tzadi (צ ṣ) in the name of the town or any of the prophetic references above. Whatever the sense of the play on words in Matthew, it has been suggested that the prophetic reference might be to the נָזִיר nāzîr in the Torah.

ü Numbers 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite [נָזִיר], to separate [לְהַזִּיר] themselves unto the LORD …

The Septuagint does not transliterate נָזִיר in Numbers 6, but in Judges 13:5, 7 (and in 16:17), where Samson was to be a Nazarite (נָזִיר), the Septuagint has ναζιραῖον, which is close to the New Testament epithet for Jesus. Did the Gospel writers consider Samson a type or forerunner of their messiah? Jesus is frequently referred to by either of two variants of this title: Ναζαρηνός in Mark (Mark 1:24; 4:34; 14:67; 16:6; 19:47; 24:19) and Ναζωραῖος in the other Gospels and in Acts (Mat 2:23; 26:71; Luke 18:37; John 18:5, 7; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 22:8; 24:5; 26:9). It is a title and in lieu of the prophetic allusion (Mat 2:23 - “He shall be called a Nazarene.”) and the way Jesus is repeatedly designated Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ‘Jesus the Nazoraios’ (Mat 26:71, Luke 18:37, John 18:5, 7, Acts 2:22, 6:14, 22:8, 26:9) or Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζαρηνός ‘Jesus the Nazarenos’ (Mark 10:47, Luke 24:19), it would seem that we have more than the mere fact of the locale of his childhood. Pilate himself wrote a title and put it on the stake (John 19:19),

Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων

Did this imply that Jesus was the branch that grew out of Jesse’s roots destined to be the king of the Jews? Or did it suggest that Jesus temporarily separated from his brethren later to become the king of the Jews? On the possibility of the latter there is the reference to נָזִיר nāzîr in respect of Joseph.

ü Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren [נְזִיר אֶחָיו nəzîr ’eḥāʸw].

ü Deuteronomy 33:16 And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush [סְנֶה səneʰ, same as in Exodus 3]: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren [נְזִיר אֶחָיו nəzîr ’eḥāʸw].

The term (נָזִיר) is used later for a nazarite (Num 6:2), and of course Jesus was no Nazarite (Mat 11:18-19; Luke 7:33-34), but then of course neither was Joseph (Gen 41:14). Rather Joseph is called a fruitful vine (בֵּן פֹּרָת bēn pōrāt ‘fruitful son’).

ü Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall…[2]

The nazarite separates himself from the vine. Joseph is a different kind of separatist, one who is separated from his brethren. Unlike the nazarite who must eschew the vine, Joseph is the vine. And so in Psalms 82, one of the 12 Psalms of Asaph who had been a priest in the northern kingdom, Joseph is again a vine (גֶּפֶן gépen).

ü Psalms 80:14-15 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.[3]

And whereas Jerusalem is symbolized by the fig tree (Jer 24:1-5), God’s vineyard (כֶּרֶם kérem) is the northern kingdom.

ü Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

Yet the northern kingdom violated the law of the nazarite. This judgment can be found in Amos 2. In verse 6 the prophecy is leveled against the northern kingdom (“Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof…; compare verse 4—“Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof…”).

If they “gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not”, might this be referring most specifically to the drunkards of Ephraim? More than alcoholism, I would suggest, the prophet is talking about Ephraim’s unwillingness to understand the Torah.

1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: 4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. 5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, 6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. 7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. (Isaiah 28:1-4)

Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine. What might that have symbolized?

1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. 5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. (John 2:1-11)

The expression is odd, for why call his mother “o woman”? However if we recall the woman of Zarephath who had fed Elijah in the famine, we see her use the same words upon the death of her son (1Kings 17:18 – Greek from Septuagint),[4]

What can we make of this first miracle of Jesus? If the water signifies the word of God (Eph 5:26) and the wine blood (Matthew 26:28), might this miracle suggest that Jesus was to turn the word into blood?

Ultimately the rejection of the word of God resulted in the blood of war. And it is not just the rejection of the truth of God—it is also the promulgation of lies (Mat 24:4-6): “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars...”

It is not that they claim to be the Jewish Messiah—rather they claim that instead of the Jewish Messiah they are anointed to explain the world and tell us how to live. Of such were Darwin and Marx and Freud, and on the heels of their messianism came the blood of war—World War I.

Or might Jesus’ first miracle have pictured how Ephraim turned the water of the word into the wine of drunkenness?

But this does not seem to be the import of Jesus’ turning water into wine. The result was good—as the ruler of the feast observed (John 2:10), “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”

Ten generations of Ephraim

(1Chron 7:20-27)

Ten generations of Perez

(Ruth 4:18-22)

אֶפְרַיִם

Ephraim

פֶּרֶץ

Perez

בְּרִיעָה

Beriah

חֶצְרוֹן

Hezron

רֶפַח

Rephah

רָם

Ram

תֶּלַח

Telah

עַמִּינָדָב

Amminadab

תַּחַן

Tahan

נַחְשׁוֹן

Nahshon

לַעְדָּן

Laadan

שַׂלְמָה/ שַׂלְמוֹן

Salmon

עַמִּיהוּד

Ammihud

בֹּעַז

Boaz

אֱלִישָׁמָע

Elishama

עוֹבֵד

Obed

נוֹן

Nun

יִשַׁי

Jesse

יְהוֹשֻׁעַ

Joshua

דָּוִד

David

Jesus bore the name of the Joseph messiah which, significantly, Moses coined (Num 13:16), “These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.”

וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה לְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן־נוּן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ

The name was later shortened (Neh 8:17): “And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun [יֵשׁוּעַ yēšûaʕ] unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.” The angel said to name him after Joshua (Mat 1:21; Luke 1:31), which points to the Joseph type. Ephraim’s birthright was (Gen 48:19),

And this Paul linked to the time of the blindness—or drunkenness of Ephraim (Rom 11:25), “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” It is also the time of Jerusalem’s exile (Luke 21:24): “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” This is the two thousand years of messiah attributed to a saying of the prophet Elijah in the Babylonian Talmud.[5]

It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in seven, so is the world: one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow as it is written [Isaiah 2:11], And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and it is further said [Psalms 92:1], A Psalm and song for the Sabbath day, meaning the day that is altogether Sabbath — and it is also said [Psalms 90:4], For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past. The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation;http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_97.html - 97a_37 two thousand years the Torah flourished;http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_97.html - 97a_38 and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era… (Sanhedrin 97a; see also Abodah Zarah 9a)

If the Joseph type messiah is the vine (גֶּפֶן gépen), as in Psalms 80:14-15, so also is Jesus:

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15)

Jesus didn’t avoid the vine and he didn’t fast, one can say, because he was picturing the world to come.

Jacob’s blessing on his son Judah concludes with connections to the vine (Gen 49:11-12), “Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.” Because Joseph is the vine, might this mean that Judah is to partake of Joseph’s bounty?

In the song of Moses this bounty of wine is called the blood of the grape (Deut 32:14): “Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.”

The drinking of blood is also idiomatic for benefitting from the risk to life of another. Thus when David longed and said (2Sam 23:15), “Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem,” and three of his mighty men risked their lives to bring it to him, David “would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.”

ü 2Samuel 23:17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

ü 1Chronicles 11:19 And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.

Thus when Jesus says we should drink his blood, I say he means the same thing. He went to his death to become an advocate for us—let us then figuratively drink of his blood.

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. (John 6)

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (1Corinthians 11)

In the battle of Gog and Magog God will figuratively drink the blood of the nations:

Perhaps it all was symbolized by a plague in Egypt (Psalms 78:43-44): “How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan. And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.”

20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. 24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. 25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river. (Exodus 7)

Is it not as in Revelation 16:6? “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”

But does God really drink blood? God asks the question in a Psalm of Asaph (Psalms 50:13): “Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”

Context there says no, of course not. The Bible is very vivid with its visuals, its symbolism, and our trek has taken us in a rather bizarre direction, yet I still don’t know what it means when it says, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Do you know?

[1] The Shem Tob for Matthew 2:23 with Greek and KJV compared.

ויבא וישכון בעיר הנקראת נאזרית לקיים מה שאמר הנביא נאזרת יקרא.

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.

καὶ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς πόλιν λεγομένην Ναζαρέτ· ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ὅτι Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται.

[2] Genesis 49:22 with JPS 1917:

כב בֵּן פֹּרָת יוֹסֵף	22 Joseph is a fruitful vine,
בֵּן פֹּרָת עֲלֵי־עָיִן	a fruitful vine by a fountain;
בָּנוֹת צָעֲדָה עֲלֵי־שׁוּר׃	its branches run over the wall.

[3] The passage from Psalms 80 with translation from JPS 1917:

טו אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת שׁוּב־נָא	15 O God of hosts, return, we beseech Thee;
הַבֵּט מִשָּׁמַיִם וּרְאֵה	look from heaven, and behold,
וּפְקֹד גֶּפֶן זֹאת׃	and be mindful of this vine,
טז וְכַנָּה אֲשֶׁר־נָטְעָה יְמִינֶךָ	16 And of the stock which Thy right hand hath planted,
וְעַל־בֵּן אִמַּצְתָּה לָּךְ׃	and the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself.

4 The demon also cried out (Luke 8:28), τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί,	Ἰησοῦ υἱὲ [τοῦ θεοῦ] τοῦ ὑψίστου;
What have I to do with thee,	O Jesus son of the God Most High?

[5] English translation by Jacob Shachter (Soncino Babylonian Talmud, edited by Isidore Epstein). Hebrew text:

תַּנְיָא כְּוָתֵיהּ דְּרַב קַטִּינָא כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהַשְבִיעִית מְשַׁמֶּטֶת שָׁנָה אַחַת לְז' שָׁנִים כַּךְ הָעוֹלָם מְשַׁמֵּט אֶלֶף שָׁנִים לְשִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים שָׁנָהשֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְנִשְׂגַּב ה' לְבַדּוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְאוֹמֵר (תהילים צב) מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת יוֹם שֶׁכּוּלּוֹ שַׁבָּת וְאוֹמֵר (תהילים צ) כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבוֹר תָּנָא דְּבֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ שֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה הֲוֵי עָלְמָא שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים תּוֹהוּ שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים תּוֹרָה שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ

τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί,	γύναι;
What have I to do with thee,	O woman?

Matthew 9	Mark 2	Luke 5
14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.	18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? 19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.	33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? 34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Matthew 26	Mark 14	Luke 22:20
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.	23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.	20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί,	ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ;
What have I to do with thee,	O man of God?

The Semitic sibilant ṣ
Geez	Arabic	Syriac	Hebrew
ጸ	ص	ܨ	צ