Nazareth
VIEW:25 DATA:01-04-2020
separated; crowned; sanctified
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
NAZARETH (mod. en-Nâsira).A town in the north border of the Plain of Esdraelon. It was a place of no history (being entirely unmentioned in the OT, Josephus, or the Talmud), no importance, and, possibly, of bad reputation (Joh_1:48). Here, however, lived Mary and Joseph. Hither, before their marriage, was the angel Gabriel sent to announce the coming birth of Christ (Luk_1:26-38), and hither the Holy Family retired after the flight to Egypt (Mat_2:23). The obscure years of Christs boyhood were spent here, and in its synagogue He preached the sermon for which He was rejected by His fellow-townsmen (Mat_13:54, Luk_4:28). After this, save as a centre of pilgrimage, Nazareth sank into obscurity. The Crusaders made it a bishopric; it is now the seat of a Turkish lientenant-governor. Many traditional sites are pointed out to pilgrims and tourists, for not one of which, with the possible exception of the Virgins Well (which, being the only spring known in the neighbourhood, was not improbably that used by the Holy Family), is there any justification.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
In a basin among hills descending into Esdraelon from Lebanon, and forming a valley which runs in a wavy line E. and W. On the northern side of the valley the rounded limestone hills rise to 400 or 500 ft. The valley and hill sides abound in gay flowers as the hollyhock growing wild, fig trees, olives, and oranges, gardens with cactus hedges, and grainfields. Now en Nazirah on a hill of Galilee (Mar_1:9), with a precipice nigh (Luk_4:29); near Cane (Joh_2:1-2; Joh_2:11). Its population of 4,000 is partly Muslim, but mainly of Latin and Greek Christians. It has a mosque, a Maronite, a Greek, and a Protestant church, and a large Franciscan convent. The rain pouring down the hills would sweep away a house founded on the surface, and often leaves the streets impassable with mud. So the houses generally are of stone, founded, after digging deep, upon the rock (Luk_6:47).
On a hill behind is the tomb of neby Ismail, commanding one of the most lovely prospects in the world, Lebanon and snowy Hermon on the N., Carmel and the Mediterranean and Acca on the W., Gilead and Tabor on the S.E., the Esdraelon plain and the Samaria mountains on the S., and villages on every side; Cana, Nain, Endor, Jezreel (Zerin), etc. Doubtless in early life Jesus often stood on this spot and held communion with His Father who, by His Son, had created this glorious scene. Nazareth is never named in Old Testament. It was there Gabriel was sent from God to announce to the Virgin her coming conception of Him who shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of whose kingdom there shall be no end (Luk_1:26-33). After His birth and the sojourn in Egypt Joseph and Mary took the child to their original home in Nazareth, six miles W. of Mount Tabor (Mat_2:23; Luk_2:39; Luk_4:16).
As "John the Baptist; was in the desert until the day of his showing unto Israel," so Messiah was growing up unknown to the world in the sequestered town among the mountains, until His baptism by the forerunner ushered in His public ministry. As Jews alone lived in Nazareth from before Josephus' time to the reign of Constantine (Epiphanius, Haer.), it is impossible to identify the sacred sites as tradition pretends to do, namely, the place of the annunciation to Mary, with the inscription on the pavement of the grotto, "Hic Verbum caro factum est", the mensa Christi, and the synagogue from whence Jesus was dragged to the brow of the hill. Of all Rome's lying legends, none exceeds that of Joseph's house (santa casa) having been whisked from Nazareth to Loretto in the 13th century; in spite of the bull of Leo X endorsing the legend, the fact remains that the santa casa is of a dark red stone, such as is not found in or about Nazareth, where the grey white limestone prevails, and also the ground plan of the house at Loretto is at variance with the site of the house at Nazareth shown by the Franciscans within their convent walls.
Jesus taught in the synagogue of Nazareth, "His own country" (Mat_13:54), and was there "thrust out of the city and led unto the brow of the hill whereon if was built, to be cast down headlong," but "passing through the midst of them He went His way" (Luk_4:16-30). The hill of precipitation" is not the one presumed, two miles S.E. of Nazareth. The present village is on the hill side, nearer the bottom than the top. Among the rocky ledges above the lower parts of the village is one 40 ft. high, and perpendicular, near the Maronite church: this is probably the true site. It is striking how accurately Luke steers clear of a mistake; he does not say they ascended or descended to reach the precipice, but "led" Jesus to it. He does not say the "city" was built on the brow of the hill, but that the precipice was "on the brow," without stating whether it was above (as is the case) or below the town.
A forger could hardly go so near a topographical mistake, without falling into it. "Jesus of Nazareth" was part of the inscription on the cross (Joh_19:19). It is the designation by which He revealed Himself to Saul (Act_22:8). Nazareth bore a bad name even in Galilee (for Nathanael who said "can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" was of Galilee), which itself, because of its half pagan population and rude dialect, was despised by the people of Judea. The absence of "good" in Nazareth appears from the people's willful unbelief in spite of Jesus' miracles, and their attempt on His life (Mat_13:54-58), so that He left them, to settle in Capernaum (Mat_4:13). "The fountain of the Virgin" is at the N.E. of the town.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Naz'areth. (the guarded one). The ordinary residence of our Saviour, is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but occurs first in Mat_2:23. It derives its celebrity from its connection with the history of Christ, and in that respect has a hold on the imagination, and feelings of men, which it shares only with Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is situated among the hills which constitute the south ridges of Lebanon,just before they sink down into the plain of Esdraelon.
(Mr. Merrill, in "Galilee in the Time of Christ," (1881), represents Nazareth in Christ's time as a city, (so always called in the New Testament), of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, of some importance and considerable antiquity, and not so insignificant and mean as has been represented. ? Editor). Of the identification of the ancient site there can be no doubt. The name of the present village is en-Nazirah the same, therefore, as of old.
It is formed on a hill or mountain, Luk_4:29, it is within the limits of the province of Galilee, Mar_1:9, it is near Cana, according to the implication in Joh_2:1-2; Joh_2:11, a precipice exists in the neighborhood. Luk_4:29. The modern Nazareth belongs to the better class of eastern villages. It has a population of 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammadans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians. (Near this town, Napoleon once encamped, (1799), after the battle of Mount Tabor).
The origin of the disrepute in which Nazareth stood, Joh_1:47, is not certainly known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon, with contempt by the people of Judea, because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less cultivated and were more exposed, by their position, to contact with the heathen. But Nazareth labored under a special opprobrium [Reproach, mingled with contempt or disdain.], for it was a Galilean, and not a southern Jew, who asked the reproachful question, whether "any good thing" could come from that source.
Above the town are several rocky ledges, over which a person could not be thrown without almost certain destruction. There is one very remarkable precipice, almost perpendicular and forty or fifty near the Maronite church, which may well be supposed to be the identical one, over which his infuriated fellow townsmen attempted to hurl Jesus.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
a little city in the tribe of Zebulun, in Lower Galilee, to the west of Tabor, and to the east of Ptolemais. This city is much celebrated in the Scriptures for having been the usual place of the residence of Jesus Christ, during the first thirty years of his life, Luk_2:51. It was here he lived in obedience to Joseph and Mary, and hence he took the name of Nazarene. After he had begun to execute his mission he preached here sometimes in the synagogue, Luk_4:16. But because his countrymen had no faith in him, and were offended at the meanness of his original, he did not many miracles here, Mat_13:54; Mat_13:58, nor would he dwell in the city. So he fixed his habitation at Capernaum for the latter part of his life, Mat_4:13. The city of Nazareth was situated upon an eminence, and on one side was a precipice, from whence the Nazarenes designed, at one time, to cast Christ down headlong, because he upbraided them for their incredulity, Luk_4:29.
The present state of this celebrated place is thus described by modern travellers:Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the pashalic of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are treated with less severity than those of the country towns in general. The population is estimated at three thousand, of whom five hundred are Turks; the remainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin families, according to Burckhardt; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to be the most numerous: there is, besides, a congregation of Greek Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired and considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more ancient edifice, ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be observed in the form of subverted columns, with fragments of capitals and bases of pillars, lying near the modern building. Pococke noticed, over a door, an old alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes. Within the convent is the church of the annunciation, containing the house of Joseph and Mary, the length of which is not quite the breadth of the church; but it forms the principal part of it. The columns and all the interior or the church are hung round with damask silk, which gives it a warm and rich appearance. Behind the great altar is a subterranean cavern, divided into small grottoes, where the virgin is said to have lived. Her kitchen, parlour, and bed room, are shown, and also a narrow hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots are in the habit of knocking off small pieces of stone from the walls, which are thus considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite columns, each two feet one inch in diameter, and about three feet apart. They are supposed to occupy the very places where the angel and the virgin stood at the precise moment of the annunciation. The innermost of these, that of the virgin, has been broken away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of finding treasure under it; so that, as Maundrell states, eighteen inches' length of it is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal. Nevertheless, it remains erect, suspended from the roof, as if attracted by a loadstone. It has evidently no support below; and, though it touches the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. All the Christians of Nazareth, says Burckhardt, with the friars, of course, at their head, affect to believe in this miracle; though it is perfectly evident that the upper part of the column is connected with the roof. The fact is, says Dr. E. D. Clarke, that the capital and a piece of the shaft of a pillar of gray granite have been fastened on to the roof of the cave; and so clumsily is the rest of the hocus pocus contrived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by almost every traveller since the trick was devised. Maundrell, and Egmont and Heyman, were told that it was broken, in search of hidden treasure, by a pasha, who was struck with blindness for his impiety. We were assured that it was separated in this manner when the angel announced to the virgin the tidings of her conception. The monks had placed a rail, to prevent persons infected with the plague from coming to rub against these pillars: this had been, for many years, their constant practice, whenever afflicted with any sickness. The reputation of the broken pillar, for healing every kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.
Burckhardt says that this church, next to that of the holy sepulchre, is the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerably good organs. Within the walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying ground: the walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the Christians in the town. There are, at present, eleven friars in the convent: they are chiefly Spaniards. The yearly expenses of the establishment are stated to amount to upward of nine hundred pounds; a small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town, and by the produce of some acres of corn land: the rest is remitted from Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the Terra Santa convents are about fifteen thousand pounds; of which the pasha of Damascus receives about twelve thousand pounds. The Greek convent of Jerusalem, according to Burckhardt's authority, pays much more, as well to maintain its own privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins. To the north-west of the convent is a small church, built over Joseph's work shop. Both Maundrell and Pococke describe it as in ruins; but Dr. E. D. Clarke says, This is now a small chapel, perfectly modern, and neatly whitewashed. To the west of this is a small arched building, which, they say, is the synagogue where Christ exasperated the Jews, by applying the language of Isaiah to himself. It once belonged to the Greeks; but, Hasselquist says, was taken from them by the Arabs, who intended to convert it into a mosque, but afterward sold it to the Latins. This was then so late a transaction that they had not had time to embellish it. The Mountain of the Precipitation is at least two miles off; so that, according to this authentic tradition, the Jews must have led our Lord a marvellous way. But the said precipice is shown as that which the Messiah leaped down to escape from the Jews; and as the monks could not pitch upon any other place frightful enough for the miracle, they contend that Nazareth formerly stood eastward of its present situation, upon a more elevated spot. Dr. E. D. Clarke, however, remarks that the situation of the modern town answers exactly to the description of St. Luke. Induced, by the words of the Gospel, to examine the place more attentively than we should otherwise have done, we went, as it is written, out of the city, to the brow of the hill whereon the city is built,' and came to a precipice corresponding to the words of the evangelist. It is above the Maronite church, and, probably, the precise spot alluded to by the text.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
The chief importance of Nazareth is that it was the place where Jesus lived most of his life. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and is mentioned in the New Testament only in connection with the story of Jesus.
Nazareth was situated in the hilly country of the northern part of Palestine known as Galilee. It had no great political importance, though it was close to several trade routes that passed through Palestine. Citizens of rival towns did not have a high opinion of it (Joh_1:43-46). The town today is within the borders of modern Israel, and is larger and more important than it was in Jesus day.
Jesus parents were originally from Nazareth, but before his birth they moved south to Bethlehem in Judea (Luk_2:4). After Jesus birth the family went to Egypt to escape the murderous Herod, and it was probably about two years later that they returned to Palestine and settled again in Nazareth (Mat_2:19-23; Luk_2:39). Jesus spent his childhood in Nazareth (Luk_2:40; Luk_2:51; Luk_4:16), and seems to have continued living there till he was about thirty years of age, at which time he began his public ministry (Mar_1:9; Luk_3:23).
A common Jewish practice was to identify people by the name of the town they came from. Jesus was often referred to by friends, enemies, angels, demons, common people, government officials, and even by himself as Jesus of Nazareth (Mat_26:71; Mar_1:23-24; Mar_16:5-6; Luk_24:19; Joh_18:5; Joh_19:19; Act_2:22; Act_22:8).
The people of Nazareth, who had seen Jesus grow up in their town, were surprised that he could preach so well, especially since he had not studied at any of the schools of the rabbis. They were also angry that he would not perform miracles to please them. On one occasion they tried to throw him over one of the cliffs in the hills around Nazareth (Mat_13:53-58; Luk_4:16-30; Mar_6:1-6).
In New Testament times the unbelieving Jews refused to call Jesus by his messianic name Christ, and refused to call his followers Christians. They called him simply Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, and called his followers Nazarenes (Act_24:5). Even today, in Hebrew and Arabic speech, Christians may be called Nazarenes.
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
naz?a-reth (Ναζαρέτ, Nazarét, Ναζαρέθ, Nazaréth, and other forms):
1. Notice Confined to the New Testament:
A town in Galilee, the home of Joseph. and the Virgin Mary, and for about 30 years the scene of the Saviour's life (Mat_2:23; Mar_1:9; Luk_2:39, Luk_2:51; Luk_4:16, etc.). He was therefore called Jesus of Nazareth, although His birthplace was Bethlehem; and those who became His disciples were known as Nazarenes. This is the name, with slight modification, used to this day by Moslems for Christians, Naṣārā - the singular being Naṣrāny.
The town is not named in the Old Testament, although the presence of a spring and the convenience of the site make it probable that the place was occupied in old times. Quaresimus learned that the ancient name was Medina Abiat, in which we may recognize the Arabic el-Medı̄nat el-baiḍah, ?the white town.? Built of the white stone supplied by the limestone rocks around, the description is quite accurate. There is a reference in Mishna (Menāḥōth viii. 6) to the ?white house of the hill? whence wine for the drink offering was brought. An elegy for the 9th of Abib speaks of a ?course? of priests settled in Nazareth. This, however, is based upon an ancient midhrash now lost (Neubauer, Geogr. du Talmud, 82, 85, 190; Delitzsch, Ein Tag in Capernaum, 142). But all this leaves us still in a state of uncertainty.
2. Position and Physical Features:
The ancient town is represented by the modern en-Nāṣirah, which is built mainly on the western and northwestern slopes of a hollow among the lower hills of Galilee, just before they sink into the plain of Esdraelon. It lies about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean at Haifa. The road to the plain and the coast goes over the southwestern lip of the hollow; that to Tiberias and Damascus over the heights to the Northeast. A rocky gorge breaks down southward, issuing on the plain between two craggy hills. That to the West is the traditional Hill of Precipitation (Luk_4:29). This, however, is too far from the city as it must have been in the days of Christ. It is probable that the present town occupies pretty nearly the ancient site; and the scene of that attempt on Jesus' life may have been the cliff, many feet in height, not far from the old synagogue, traces of which are still seen in the western part of the town. There is a good spring under the Greek Orthodox church at the foot of the hill on the North. The water is led in a conduit to the fountain, whither the women and their children go as in old times, to carry home in their jars supplies for domestic use. There is also a tiny spring in the face of the western hill. To the Northwest rises the height on which stands the sanctuary, now in ruins, of Neby Sa‛ı̄n. From this point a most beautiful and extensive view is obtained, ranging on a clear day from the Mediterranean on the West to the Mountain of Bashan on the East; from Upper Galilee and Mt. Hermon on the North to the uplands of Gilead and Samaria on the South The whole extent of Esdraelon is seen, that great battlefield, associated with so many heroic exploits in Israel's history, from Carmel and Megiddo to Tabor and Mt. Gilboa.
3. Present Inhabitants:
There are now some 7,000 inhabitants, mainly Christian, of whom the Greek Orthodox church claims about 3,000. Moslems number about 1,600. There are no Jews. It is the chief market town for the pastoral and agricultural district that lies around it.
4. Labors of Jesus:
In Nazareth, Jesus preached His first recorded sermon (Luk_4:16 ff), when His plainness of speech aroused the homicidal fury of His hearers. ?He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief? (Mat_13:58). Finding no rest or security in Nazareth, He made His home in Capernaum. The reproach implied in Nathanael's question, ?Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?? (Joh_1:46), has led to much speculation. By ingenious emendation of the text Cheyne would read, ?Can the Holy One proceed from Nazareth?? (EB, under the word). Perhaps, however, we should see no more in this than the acquiescence of Nathanael's humble spirit in the lowly estimate of his native province entertained by the leaders of his people in Judea.
5. Later History:
Christians are said to have first settled here in the time of Constantine (Epiphanius), whose mother Helena built the Church of the Annunciation. In crusading times it was the seat of the bishop of Bethscan. It passed into Moslem hands after the disaster to the Crusaders at Ḥaṭṭı̄n (1183). It was destroyed by Sultan Bibars in 1263. In 1620 the Franciscans rebuilt the Church of the Annunciation, and the town rose again from its ruins. Here in 1799 the French general Junot was assailed by the Turks. After his brilliant victory over the Turks at Tabor, Napoleon visited Nazareth. The place suffered some damage in the earthquake of 1837.
Protestant Missions are now represented in Nazareth by agents of the Church Missionary Society, and of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Fig. 275?Nazareth
Naz?areth, a town in Galilee, in which the parents of Jesus were resident, and where in consequence He lived till the commencement of His ministry. It derives all its historical importance from this circumstance, for it is not even named in the Old Testament or by Josephus: which suffices to show that it could not have been a place of any consideration, and was probably no more than a village.
Nazareth is situated about six miles W.N.W. from Mount Tabor, on the western side of a narrow oblong basin, or depressed valley, about a mile long by a quarter of a mile broad. The buildings stand on the lower part of the slope of the western hill, which rises steep and high above them. It is now a small, but more than usually well-built place, containing about three thousand inhabitants, of whom two-thirds are Christians. The flat-roofed houses are built of stone, and are mostly two stories high. The environs are planted with luxuriantly-growing fig-trees, olive-trees, and vines, and the crops of corn are scarcely equaled throughout the length and breadth of Canaan. All the spots which could be supposed to be in any way connected with the history of Christ are, of course, pointed out by the monks and local guides, but on authority too precarious to deserve any credit, and with circumstances too puerile for reverence. It is enough to know that the Lord dwelt here; that for thirty years He trod this spot of earth, and that His eyes were familiar with the objects spread around. In the southwest part of the town is a small Maronite church, under a precipice of the hill, which here breaks off in a perpendicular wall forty or fifty feet in height. Dr. Robinson noticed several such precipices in the western hill around the village, and with very good reason concludes that one of these, probably the one just indicated, may well have been the spot whither the Jews led Jesus, 'unto the brow of the hill whereon the city was built, that they might cast him down headlong'(Luk_4:28-30); and not the precipice, two miles from the village, overlooking the plain of Esdraelon, which monkish tradition indicates to the traveler as the 'Mount of Precipitation.'
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Nazareth
(Ναζρέθ Ναζαρέτ; usually thought to be a Graecized derivative from נֵצֵר, a sprout, Aram. נצראת, see Hengstenberg, Christol. 2, I sq.; comp. Keim, Gesch. Jesu [Zur. 1867], 1:318; but Hitzig, in the Heidelb. Jahrbichern, 1870, page 50, conjectures somewhat wildly an original form, נָזְרִת, with the signif. goddess of success"), the place of residence (but not the birthplace) of our Lord. In the following account we bring together whatever is known respecting this interesting locality. SEE JESUS.
1. Scripture Mention. Nazareth was the town of Joseph and Mary, to which they returned with the infant Jesus (εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἑαυτῶν) after the accomplishment of the events connected with his birth and earliest infancy (Mat_2:22). Previous to that event, the place is altogether unknown to history. In OldTestament Scripture it is never once named, though a town could hardly fail to have existed on so eligible a spot from early times. Josephus, though personally familiar with the whole district in which it lies, is equally silent regarding it. The secluded nature of the spot where it stands, together with its own insignificance, probably combined to shroud it in that obscurity on account of which it would seem to have been divinely chosen for the rearing of God's incarnate Son. As his forerunner, John the Baptist, "was in the desert," unnoticed and unknown, "till the day of his showing unto Israel," so the great Messiah himself, till his public ministry began, was hidden from the world among the Galilaean hills.
The other passages of Scripture which refer expressly to Nazareth, though not numerous, are suggestive and deserve to be recalled here. It was the home of Joseph and Mary (Luk_2:39). The angel announced to the Virgin there the birth of the Messiah (Luk_1:26-28). The holy family returned thither after the flight into Egypt (Mat_2:23). Nazareth is called the native country (ἡ πατρὶς αὑτοῦ) of Jesus: he grew up there from infancy to manhood (Luk_4:16), and was known through life as "The Nazarene." He taught in the synagogue there (Mat_13:54; Luk_4:16), and was dragged by his fellow-townsmen to the precipice in order to be cast down thence and bekilled (εἰς τὸ κατα κρημνίσαι αὐτόν). "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews," was written over his cross (Joh_19:19), and after his ascension he revealed himself under that appellation to the persecuting Saul (Act_22:8). The place has given name to his followers in all ages and all lands, a name which will never cease to be one of honor and reproach. SEE NAZARENE.
The origin of the disrepute in which Nazareth stood (Joh_1:47) is lot certainly known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon with contempt by the people of Judaea because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less cultivated, and were more exposed by their position to contact with the heathen. But Nazareth labored under a special opprobrium, for it was a Glalilean and not a southern Jew who asked the reproachful question, whether "any good thing" could come from that source. The term "good" (ἀγαθόν), having more commonly an ethical sense, it has been suggested that the inhabitants of Nazareth may have had a bad name among their neighbors for irreligion or some laxity of morals. The supposition receives support from the disposition which they manifested towards the person and ministry of our Lord. They attempted to kill him; they expelled him twice (for Luk_4:16-29 and Mat_13:54-58 relate probably to different occurrences) from their borders; they were so wilful and unbelieving that he performed not many miracles among them (Mat_13:58); and, finally, they compelled him to turn his back upon them and reside at Capernaum (Mat_4:13).
2. Location. Nazareth is a moderate journey of three days from Jerusalem, seven hours, or about twenty miles, from Akka or Ptolemais (Act_21:7), five or six hours, or eighteen miles, from the Sea of Galilee, six miles west from Mount Tabor, two hours from Cana, and two or three from Endor and Nain. It is situated among the hills which constitute the south ridges of Lebanon, just before they sink down into the plain of Esdraelon. The traveller, coming from the south, ascends the mountain range by a steep and rugged path, which, winding onwards and upwards through the hills, brings him suddenly into a small sequestered hollow among their summits; and here, nestling close in at the base of the loftiest of the encircling heights, he beholds what must ever be to the Christian one of the most profoundly interesting scenes on the face of this earth-the home for thirty years of the Savior of the world. The surrounding heights vary in altitude; some of them rise to 400 or 500 feet. They have rounded tops, are composed of the glittering limestone which is so common in that country, and, though on the whole sterile and unattractive in appearance, present not an unpleasing aspect, diversified as they are with the foliage of fig-trees and wild shrubs, and with the verdure of occasional fields of grain. Our familiar hollyhock is one of the gay flowers which grow wild there. The enclosed valley is peculiarly rich and well cultivated: it is filled with cornfields, with gardens, hedges of cactus, and clusters of fruit- bearing trees. Being so sheltered by hills, Nazareth enjoys a mild atmosphere and climate. Hence all the fruits of the country as pomegranates, oranges, figs, olives ripen early and attain a rare perfection.
In speaking of the precise position of Nazareth, there is some discrepancy among travellers: Stanley says, "The village stands on the steep slope of the southwestern side of the valley" (Sinai and Palestine, page 365). Wilson (Lands of the Bible, 2:92) observes that "the village of Nasirah. or Nazareth, stands on the eastern side of the basin in which it is situated." Thomson (Land and Book, 2:131) seems to place it on the western side. Dr. Porter (Hand-bookfor Syria and Palestine, 2:359) has described Nazareth as lying at the bottom of "the hill on the north side" of the little plain. An inspection of the accompanying plan shows that it lies at the foot and partly up the slope at the north-western angle of the valley.
Of the identification of the ancient site there can be no doubt. The name of the present village is en-Nazirah, the same, therefore, as of old; it is formed on a hill or mountain (Luk_4:29); it is within the limits of the province of Galilee (Mar_1:9); it is near Cana (whether we assume Kana on the east or Kana on the north-east as the scene of the first miracle), according to the implication in Joh_2:1-2; Joh_2:11; a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luk_4:29); and, finally, a series of testimonies (Reland, Palaest. page 905) reach back to Eusebius, the father of Church history, which represent the place as having occupied an invariable position.
3. History. Of the condition of Nazareth during the earlier centuries of the Christian era next to nothing is known. Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, alludes to it as a village near Mount Tabor. Epiphanius speaks of it as formerly a town, but in his day only a village. Helena, the mother of Constantine, is related to have built the first church of the Annunciation here. In the time of the Crusaders, the episcopal see of Bethsean was transferred there. The birthplace of Christianity was lost to the Christians by their defeat at Hattin in 1183, and was laid utterly in ruins by sultan Bibars in 1263. Ages passed away before it rose again from this prostration. In 1620 the Franciscans rebuilt the church of the Annunciation, and connected a cloister with it. In 1799 the Turks assaulted the French general Junot at Nazareth; and shortly after 2100 French, under Kleber and Napoleon, defeated a Turkish army of 25,000 at the foot of Mount Tabor. Napoleon himself, after that battle, spent a few hours at Nazareth, and reached there the northern limit of his Eastern expedition. The earthquake which destroyed Safed in 1837, injured also Nazareth. No Jews reside there at present, which may beascribed perhaps as much to the hostility of the Christian sects as to their own hatred of the prophet who was sent to redeem Israel."
4. Traditionary Localities. Epiphanius, in his book against heresies, written in the latter half of the 4th century, states that, from times prior to those of Josephus, onward to the reign of the elder Constantine, none but Jews were allowed to live in it. Being himself a native of Judaea, and born, as is believed, of Jewish parents, his information on such points as these is not likely to have beel incorrect. If so, it effectually overturns all confidence in those many monkish traditions of which the modern Nazareth is full. If several centuries elapsed before Christians resorted to it, or dwelt in it at all, it must needs have been utterly impossible to identify, as those traditions pretend to do, the precise locality of any one of the memorable incidents from which it derives its undying fame.
In the 6th century, although, so far as appears, no trace had been found of either the house of Joseph and Mary or of the scene of the annunciation, those who trade in discoveries of that kind were then already at work. Antoninus Martyr, who in the course of that century went from Tyre to visit Nazareth, found there a synagogue, in which, as he was told, "had stood the very bench on which, along with the children of the place, Jesus in his childhood had sat; but which, to keep it out of the hands of the Christians, the Jews had carried off" (De urbibus et vicis Palestinae). In the immediately succeedingcentury, however, almost everything of which tradition boasts at the present day in Nazareth had become an accepted and firmly-established belief of that superstitious age. Writing of the holy places in the 7th century, Adamnanus expressly mentions one great church as having been built over the site of the house in which our Lord was brought up; and another on the spot where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin, to announce to her that divine mystery which has made her blessed among women. Phocas, a writer of the 12th century, alludes to the same traditions, as still studiously cherished; and specially notices the fountain, in a small cave beneath a splendid church, as that at which Mary was wont to drink, and where the angel appeared to her; and also to the house of Joseph as having been changed into a most beautiful place of Christian worship.
Tradition, however, is not always sufficiently. careful of its own consistency. For it would have us to believe that this house of Joseph, which in the 12th century had been so transmuted was, in its original form of Joseph's dwelling, carried away bodily from Nazareth by the hands of angels, and set down on the hill above Fiume, at the head of the Adriatic Gulf; and that from thence, after a short stay in the plain below, it was conveyed across the sea to the eastern slope of the Apennines, where, as the santa casa, within the magnificent church of our Lady of Loretto, it stands to this day, and continues to be the most frequented and honored of all the holy places in the world! Those who are able to get over all the other difficulties connected with this marvellous story, will not be much embarrassed by the fact that, while the actual house of Joseph, wherever it stood, was no doubt built of the grayisihwhite limestone of which the whole country around Nazareth is formed. the santa casa at Loretto is built of a dark-red stone, to which there is nothing like in all the land of Judea. Although the miraculous transportation of the holy house took place, according to the tradition regarding it, about the close of the 13th century, there is no trace of the existence of the tradition itself till near the end of the 15th century.
That this monstrous fable should have been formally recited and canonized in a bull of the lettered and luxurious sceptic, pope Leo X, serves only to show that there is no delusion too gross for the Papal Church to practice on human credulity and superstition. There can be little doubt that Nazareth itself had nothing whatever to do with the originating of a story which tended so directly to injure its own renown by robbing it of one of its most precious treasures. The theory of its invention suggested by Stanley is in all probability the true one. "Nazareth was taken by sultan Khalil in 1291, when he stormed the last refuge of the Crusaders in the neighboring city of Acre. From that time not Nazareth; only, but the whole of Palestine was closed to the devotions of Europe. The Crusaders were expelled from Asia, and in Europe the spirit of the crusades was extinct. But the natural longing to see the scenes of the events of the sacred history the superstitious craving to win, for prayer, the favor of consecrated places-did not expire with the crusades. Can we wonder that, under such circumstances, there should have arisen the feeling, the desire, the belief that if Mohammed would not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed? The house of Loretto is the petrifaction, so to speak, of the last sigh of the crusades!" (Sinai and Palestine, pages 448, 449). The existence of this purely European tradition has proved a source of considerable perplexity to the Franciscan monks of Nazareth; for while the pope's bull and the infallibility of their Church compel them to receive it, they find it somewhat puzzling to harmonize it with what they have to show, and to contend for, within the walls of their own convent. To illustrate this awkward conflict of incompatible claims, Stanley exhibits, at the head of his chapter on the subject, diagrams of the ground-plan of the holy house at Loretto and of the site of the same pretended house at Nazareth plans which by no possibility can be made to agree.
The extensive edifice which now occupies the place of the church built on the same spot by the Crusaders was begun in the early part of the 17th century, that of the Crusaders having lain in ruins for more than 300 years. The modern structure has been gradually enlarged, and now constitutes, with its numerous conventual buildings, by much the most imposing object that meets the traveller's eye as he comes in sight of Nazareth. It is the Latin convent, and includes within its high-walled enclosure the church already spoken of, the Church of the Annunciation. The, church itself is nearly a square of seventy feet, divided, by four massive piers which support the vaulted roof, into nave, choir, and aisles. The piers and walls are covered with canvas hangings, painted, in imitation of tapestry, with Scripture scenes. The sacred grotto, the true holy place, is beneath the floor of the church, and is entered by a broad flight of fifteen steps which lead down into it. Here there is first a vestibule of twenty-five feet by ten, from which a low-arched opening admits the visitor into an inner chamber of the same size-the veritable scene, according to the tradition of the Latin Church, of the ever-memorable Annunciation. Within this sanctum, and directly opposite the entrance into it, is a marble altar; and beneath it on the floor a marble slab, with a cross in the centre, professedly marking the place where the Virgin stood when she received the message from on high. On the marble pavement of the grotto is this inscription: Hic Verbum caro factum est. From the roof of this grotto the fragment of a granite column hangs, and beneath it the lower part of what the monks allege to be the same column remains inserted in the floor; the middle part of the column, they say, having been broken in pieces by the Saracen infidels in order to bring down the roof. Unfortunately the two parts of the column are of different kinds of stone the one being of gray granite, the other of Cipolino marble, betraying the clumsiness with which the contrivance has been executed. In another chamber, above and behind the altar, there is an apocryphal picture which claims to represent the "vera imago Salvatoris nostri, Domini Jesu Christi, ad Regem Abgarum missa.
At some distance from the Latin convent is a modern church, also belonging to the Latins, within which is shown a piece of an old wall part, as their tradition would have it believed, of Joseph's workshop. In another chapel is the mensa Christi, a large table-shaped fragment of solid rock, rising about three feet above the floor, on which, it is told, our Lord ate with his disciples both before and after his resurrection. Finally there is the synagogue from which Jesus was dragged by the multitude to the brow of the hill on which the city stood, with the design of casting him down.
Such are the "chief sights" in Nazareth which the Latin Church has to show, and in which it glories. The Greek Church, also, has something to exhibit, for she too has her Church of the Annunciation. It is located over a fountain, said to be that mentioned in one of the apocryphal gospels as adjoining the scene of that event. It is at a short distance from the present public fountain, and is sometimes distinctively called the Chapel of the Angel Gabriel.
Two localities possess, though in different ways, a certain-interest which no one will fail to recognise. One of these is the "Fountain of the Virgin, situated at the north-eastern extremity of the town, where, according to one tradition, the mother of Jesus received the angel's salutation (Luk_1:28). Though we mayv attach no importance to this latter belief, we must. on other accounts, regard the spring w-ith a feeling akin to that of religious veneration. It derives its name from the fact that Mary, during her life at Nazareth, no doubt accompanied often by "the child Jesus," must have been accustomed to repair to this fountain for water as is the practice of the women of that village at the present day. Certainly, as Dr. Clarke observes (Travels, 2:427)," if there be a spot throughout the Holy Land that was undoubtedly honored by her presence, we may consider this to have been the place; because the situation of a copious spring is not liable to change, and because the custom of repairing thither to draw water has been continued among the female inhabitants of Nazareth from the earliest period of its history." The well-worn path which leads thither from the town has been trodden by the feet of almost countless generations. It presents at all hours a busy scene, from the number of those, hurrying to and fro, engaged in the labor of water-carrying. (See the cut, volume 3, page 632, of this Cyclopcedia.)
The other place is that of the attempted Precipitation. We are directed to the true scene of this occurrence, not so much by any tradition as by internal indications in the Gospel history itself. A prevalent opinion of the country has transferred the event to a hill about two miles south-east of the town. But there is no evidence that Nazareth ever occupied a different site from the present one; and that a mob, whose determination was to put to death the object of their rage, should repair to so distant a place for that purpose is entirely incredible. The present village, as already stated. lies along the hill-side, but much nearer the base than the summit. Above the bulk of the town are several rocky ledges over which a person could not be thrown without almost certain destruction. But there is one very remarkable precipice, almost perpendicular and forty or fifty feet high, near the Maronite church, which may well be supposed to be the identical one over which the infuriated townsmen of Jesus attempted to hurl him. 'The singular precision with which the narrative relates the transaction deserves a remark or two. Casual readers would understand from the account that Nazareth was situated on the summit, and that the people brought Jesns dowi' thence to the brow of the hill as if it were-betweeen the .tosn and. the valley. If these inferences were correct, the narrative and the locality would then be at variance with each other. Even Reland (Palest. page 905) says: "Ναζαρέθ urbs aedificata super rupem, unde Christum precipitare conati sunt." But the language of the evangelist, when more closely examined, is found neither to require the inferences in question on the one hand. nor to exclude them on the other. What he asserts is that the incensed crowd "rose up and cast Jesus out of the city, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which the city was built, that they might cast him down headlong." It will be remarked here, in the first place, that it is not said that the people either went up or descended in order to reach the precipice, butsimply that they took the Savior to it, wherever it was; and, in the second place, that it is not said that the city was built "on the brow of the hill," but equally as well that the precipice was "on the brow, without deciding whether the cliff overlooked the town (as is the fact) or was below it. It will be seen, therefore, how very nearly the terms of the history approach a mistake and yet avoid it. As Paley remarks in another case, none but a true account could advance thus to the very brink of contradiction without falling into it. SEE PRECIPITATION.
5. Present Condition. Modern Nazareth belongs to the better class of Eastern villages. It has a population of 3000 or 4000: a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians. There is one mosque, a Franciscan convent of huge dimensions, but displaying no great architectural beauty, a small Maronite church, a Greek church, and perhaps a church or chapel of some of the other confessions. Protestant missions have been attempted, but with no very marked success. Most of the houses are well built of stone, and have a neat and comfortable appearance. As streams in the rainy season are liable to pour down with violence from the hills, every "wise man," instead of building upon the loose soil on the surface, digs deep, and lays his foundation upon the rock (ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν) which is found so generally in that country at a certain depth in the earth. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, and after rain are so full of mud and mire as to be almost impassable.
A description of Nazareth would be incomplete without mention of the remarkable view from the tomb of Neby Ismail on one of the hills behind the town. It must suffice to indicate merely the objects within sight. In the north are seen the ridges of Lebanon and, high above all, the white top of Hermon; in the west, Carmel, glimpses of the Mediterranean, the bay and the town of Akka; east and south-east are Gilead, Tabor, Gilboa; and south, the plain of Esdraelon and the mountains of Samaria, with villages on every side, among which are Kana, Nein, Endor, Zerin (Jezreel), and Tdannuk (Taanach). It is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and sublime spectacles (for it combines the two features) which earth has to show. Dr. Robinson's elaborate description of the scene (Bib. Res. 2:336, 337) conveys no exaggerated idea of its magnificence or historical interest. It is easy to believe that the Savior, during the days of his seclusion in the adjacent valley, often came to this very spot, and looked forth thence upon those glorious works of the Creator which so lift the soul upward to him.
Nazareth has long been distinguished for the peculiar beauty of its women. Antoninus Martyr found many there in the 6th century, who pretended to have received this gift from the Virgin Mary; and travellers state that their descendants retain it still.
See, in addition to the above-cited authorities, Lightfoot, Horae Heb. page 918; Quaresmius, 3:834; Schulz, Leitungen, 5:192; Richter, Wallf. page 57; Schubert, 3:169; Burckhardt, 2:583; Scholtz, Reis. page 247; Hackett, Illustr. of Script. page 301; Bonar, Land of Promise, page 397; Sepp, Das Heil. Land, 2:73; Tobler, Nazareth in Palastina (Berlin, 1868).
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
NAZARETH (mod. en-Nâsira).A town in the north border of the Plain of Esdraelon. It was a place of no history (being entirely unmentioned in the OT, Josephus, or the Talmud), no importance, and, possibly, of bad reputation (Joh_1:48). Here, however, lived Mary and Joseph. Hither, before their marriage, was the angel Gabriel sent to announce the coming birth of Christ (Luk_1:26-38), and hither the Holy Family retired after the flight to Egypt (Mat_2:23). The obscure years of Christs boyhood were spent here, and in its synagogue He preached the sermon for which He was rejected by His fellow-townsmen (Mat_13:54, Luk_4:28). After this, save as a centre of pilgrimage, Nazareth sank into obscurity. The Crusaders made it a bishopric; it is now the seat of a Turkish lientenant-governor. Many traditional sites are pointed out to pilgrims and tourists, for not one of which, with the possible exception of the Virgins Well (which, being the only spring known in the neighbourhood, was not improbably that used by the Holy Family), is there any justification.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
In a basin among hills descending into Esdraelon from Lebanon, and forming a valley which runs in a wavy line E. and W. On the northern side of the valley the rounded limestone hills rise to 400 or 500 ft. The valley and hill sides abound in gay flowers as the hollyhock growing wild, fig trees, olives, and oranges, gardens with cactus hedges, and grainfields. Now en Nazirah on a hill of Galilee (Mar_1:9), with a precipice nigh (Luk_4:29); near Cane (Joh_2:1-2; Joh_2:11). Its population of 4,000 is partly Muslim, but mainly of Latin and Greek Christians. It has a mosque, a Maronite, a Greek, and a Protestant church, and a large Franciscan convent. The rain pouring down the hills would sweep away a house founded on the surface, and often leaves the streets impassable with mud. So the houses generally are of stone, founded, after digging deep, upon the rock (Luk_6:47).
On a hill behind is the tomb of neby Ismail, commanding one of the most lovely prospects in the world, Lebanon and snowy Hermon on the N., Carmel and the Mediterranean and Acca on the W., Gilead and Tabor on the S.E., the Esdraelon plain and the Samaria mountains on the S., and villages on every side; Cana, Nain, Endor, Jezreel (Zerin), etc. Doubtless in early life Jesus often stood on this spot and held communion with His Father who, by His Son, had created this glorious scene. Nazareth is never named in Old Testament. It was there Gabriel was sent from God to announce to the Virgin her coming conception of Him who shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of whose kingdom there shall be no end (Luk_1:26-33). After His birth and the sojourn in Egypt Joseph and Mary took the child to their original home in Nazareth, six miles W. of Mount Tabor (Mat_2:23; Luk_2:39; Luk_4:16).
As "John the Baptist; was in the desert until the day of his showing unto Israel," so Messiah was growing up unknown to the world in the sequestered town among the mountains, until His baptism by the forerunner ushered in His public ministry. As Jews alone lived in Nazareth from before Josephus' time to the reign of Constantine (Epiphanius, Haer.), it is impossible to identify the sacred sites as tradition pretends to do, namely, the place of the annunciation to Mary, with the inscription on the pavement of the grotto, "Hic Verbum caro factum est", the mensa Christi, and the synagogue from whence Jesus was dragged to the brow of the hill. Of all Rome's lying legends, none exceeds that of Joseph's house (santa casa) having been whisked from Nazareth to Loretto in the 13th century; in spite of the bull of Leo X endorsing the legend, the fact remains that the santa casa is of a dark red stone, such as is not found in or about Nazareth, where the grey white limestone prevails, and also the ground plan of the house at Loretto is at variance with the site of the house at Nazareth shown by the Franciscans within their convent walls.
Jesus taught in the synagogue of Nazareth, "His own country" (Mat_13:54), and was there "thrust out of the city and led unto the brow of the hill whereon if was built, to be cast down headlong," but "passing through the midst of them He went His way" (Luk_4:16-30). The hill of precipitation" is not the one presumed, two miles S.E. of Nazareth. The present village is on the hill side, nearer the bottom than the top. Among the rocky ledges above the lower parts of the village is one 40 ft. high, and perpendicular, near the Maronite church: this is probably the true site. It is striking how accurately Luke steers clear of a mistake; he does not say they ascended or descended to reach the precipice, but "led" Jesus to it. He does not say the "city" was built on the brow of the hill, but that the precipice was "on the brow," without stating whether it was above (as is the case) or below the town.
A forger could hardly go so near a topographical mistake, without falling into it. "Jesus of Nazareth" was part of the inscription on the cross (Joh_19:19). It is the designation by which He revealed Himself to Saul (Act_22:8). Nazareth bore a bad name even in Galilee (for Nathanael who said "can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" was of Galilee), which itself, because of its half pagan population and rude dialect, was despised by the people of Judea. The absence of "good" in Nazareth appears from the people's willful unbelief in spite of Jesus' miracles, and their attempt on His life (Mat_13:54-58), so that He left them, to settle in Capernaum (Mat_4:13). "The fountain of the Virgin" is at the N.E. of the town.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Naz'areth. (the guarded one). The ordinary residence of our Saviour, is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but occurs first in Mat_2:23. It derives its celebrity from its connection with the history of Christ, and in that respect has a hold on the imagination, and feelings of men, which it shares only with Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is situated among the hills which constitute the south ridges of Lebanon,just before they sink down into the plain of Esdraelon.
(Mr. Merrill, in "Galilee in the Time of Christ," (1881), represents Nazareth in Christ's time as a city, (so always called in the New Testament), of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, of some importance and considerable antiquity, and not so insignificant and mean as has been represented. ? Editor). Of the identification of the ancient site there can be no doubt. The name of the present village is en-Nazirah the same, therefore, as of old.
It is formed on a hill or mountain, Luk_4:29, it is within the limits of the province of Galilee, Mar_1:9, it is near Cana, according to the implication in Joh_2:1-2; Joh_2:11, a precipice exists in the neighborhood. Luk_4:29. The modern Nazareth belongs to the better class of eastern villages. It has a population of 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammadans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians. (Near this town, Napoleon once encamped, (1799), after the battle of Mount Tabor).
The origin of the disrepute in which Nazareth stood, Joh_1:47, is not certainly known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon, with contempt by the people of Judea, because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less cultivated and were more exposed, by their position, to contact with the heathen. But Nazareth labored under a special opprobrium [Reproach, mingled with contempt or disdain.], for it was a Galilean, and not a southern Jew, who asked the reproachful question, whether "any good thing" could come from that source.
Above the town are several rocky ledges, over which a person could not be thrown without almost certain destruction. There is one very remarkable precipice, almost perpendicular and forty or fifty near the Maronite church, which may well be supposed to be the identical one, over which his infuriated fellow townsmen attempted to hurl Jesus.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
a little city in the tribe of Zebulun, in Lower Galilee, to the west of Tabor, and to the east of Ptolemais. This city is much celebrated in the Scriptures for having been the usual place of the residence of Jesus Christ, during the first thirty years of his life, Luk_2:51. It was here he lived in obedience to Joseph and Mary, and hence he took the name of Nazarene. After he had begun to execute his mission he preached here sometimes in the synagogue, Luk_4:16. But because his countrymen had no faith in him, and were offended at the meanness of his original, he did not many miracles here, Mat_13:54; Mat_13:58, nor would he dwell in the city. So he fixed his habitation at Capernaum for the latter part of his life, Mat_4:13. The city of Nazareth was situated upon an eminence, and on one side was a precipice, from whence the Nazarenes designed, at one time, to cast Christ down headlong, because he upbraided them for their incredulity, Luk_4:29.
The present state of this celebrated place is thus described by modern travellers:Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the pashalic of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are treated with less severity than those of the country towns in general. The population is estimated at three thousand, of whom five hundred are Turks; the remainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin families, according to Burckhardt; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to be the most numerous: there is, besides, a congregation of Greek Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired and considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more ancient edifice, ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be observed in the form of subverted columns, with fragments of capitals and bases of pillars, lying near the modern building. Pococke noticed, over a door, an old alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes. Within the convent is the church of the annunciation, containing the house of Joseph and Mary, the length of which is not quite the breadth of the church; but it forms the principal part of it. The columns and all the interior or the church are hung round with damask silk, which gives it a warm and rich appearance. Behind the great altar is a subterranean cavern, divided into small grottoes, where the virgin is said to have lived. Her kitchen, parlour, and bed room, are shown, and also a narrow hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots are in the habit of knocking off small pieces of stone from the walls, which are thus considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite columns, each two feet one inch in diameter, and about three feet apart. They are supposed to occupy the very places where the angel and the virgin stood at the precise moment of the annunciation. The innermost of these, that of the virgin, has been broken away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of finding treasure under it; so that, as Maundrell states, eighteen inches' length of it is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal. Nevertheless, it remains erect, suspended from the roof, as if attracted by a loadstone. It has evidently no support below; and, though it touches the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. All the Christians of Nazareth, says Burckhardt, with the friars, of course, at their head, affect to believe in this miracle; though it is perfectly evident that the upper part of the column is connected with the roof. The fact is, says Dr. E. D. Clarke, that the capital and a piece of the shaft of a pillar of gray granite have been fastened on to the roof of the cave; and so clumsily is the rest of the hocus pocus contrived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by almost every traveller since the trick was devised. Maundrell, and Egmont and Heyman, were told that it was broken, in search of hidden treasure, by a pasha, who was struck with blindness for his impiety. We were assured that it was separated in this manner when the angel announced to the virgin the tidings of her conception. The monks had placed a rail, to prevent persons infected with the plague from coming to rub against these pillars: this had been, for many years, their constant practice, whenever afflicted with any sickness. The reputation of the broken pillar, for healing every kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.
Burckhardt says that this church, next to that of the holy sepulchre, is the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerably good organs. Within the walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying ground: the walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the Christians in the town. There are, at present, eleven friars in the convent: they are chiefly Spaniards. The yearly expenses of the establishment are stated to amount to upward of nine hundred pounds; a small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town, and by the produce of some acres of corn land: the rest is remitted from Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the Terra Santa convents are about fifteen thousand pounds; of which the pasha of Damascus receives about twelve thousand pounds. The Greek convent of Jerusalem, according to Burckhardt's authority, pays much more, as well to maintain its own privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins. To the north-west of the convent is a small church, built over Joseph's work shop. Both Maundrell and Pococke describe it as in ruins; but Dr. E. D. Clarke says, This is now a small chapel, perfectly modern, and neatly whitewashed. To the west of this is a small arched building, which, they say, is the synagogue where Christ exasperated the Jews, by applying the language of Isaiah to himself. It once belonged to the Greeks; but, Hasselquist says, was taken from them by the Arabs, who intended to convert it into a mosque, but afterward sold it to the Latins. This was then so late a transaction that they had not had time to embellish it. The Mountain of the Precipitation is at least two miles off; so that, according to this authentic tradition, the Jews must have led our Lord a marvellous way. But the said precipice is shown as that which the Messiah leaped down to escape from the Jews; and as the monks could not pitch upon any other place frightful enough for the miracle, they contend that Nazareth formerly stood eastward of its present situation, upon a more elevated spot. Dr. E. D. Clarke, however, remarks that the situation of the modern town answers exactly to the description of St. Luke. Induced, by the words of the Gospel, to examine the place more attentively than we should otherwise have done, we went, as it is written, out of the city, to the brow of the hill whereon the city is built,' and came to a precipice corresponding to the words of the evangelist. It is above the Maronite church, and, probably, the precise spot alluded to by the text.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
The chief importance of Nazareth is that it was the place where Jesus lived most of his life. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and is mentioned in the New Testament only in connection with the story of Jesus.
Nazareth was situated in the hilly country of the northern part of Palestine known as Galilee. It had no great political importance, though it was close to several trade routes that passed through Palestine. Citizens of rival towns did not have a high opinion of it (Joh_1:43-46). The town today is within the borders of modern Israel, and is larger and more important than it was in Jesus day.
Jesus parents were originally from Nazareth, but before his birth they moved south to Bethlehem in Judea (Luk_2:4). After Jesus birth the family went to Egypt to escape the murderous Herod, and it was probably about two years later that they returned to Palestine and settled again in Nazareth (Mat_2:19-23; Luk_2:39). Jesus spent his childhood in Nazareth (Luk_2:40; Luk_2:51; Luk_4:16), and seems to have continued living there till he was about thirty years of age, at which time he began his public ministry (Mar_1:9; Luk_3:23).
A common Jewish practice was to identify people by the name of the town they came from. Jesus was often referred to by friends, enemies, angels, demons, common people, government officials, and even by himself as Jesus of Nazareth (Mat_26:71; Mar_1:23-24; Mar_16:5-6; Luk_24:19; Joh_18:5; Joh_19:19; Act_2:22; Act_22:8).
The people of Nazareth, who had seen Jesus grow up in their town, were surprised that he could preach so well, especially since he had not studied at any of the schools of the rabbis. They were also angry that he would not perform miracles to please them. On one occasion they tried to throw him over one of the cliffs in the hills around Nazareth (Mat_13:53-58; Luk_4:16-30; Mar_6:1-6).
In New Testament times the unbelieving Jews refused to call Jesus by his messianic name Christ, and refused to call his followers Christians. They called him simply Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, and called his followers Nazarenes (Act_24:5). Even today, in Hebrew and Arabic speech, Christians may be called Nazarenes.
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
naz?a-reth (Ναζαρέτ, Nazarét, Ναζαρέθ, Nazaréth, and other forms):
1. Notice Confined to the New Testament:
A town in Galilee, the home of Joseph. and the Virgin Mary, and for about 30 years the scene of the Saviour's life (Mat_2:23; Mar_1:9; Luk_2:39, Luk_2:51; Luk_4:16, etc.). He was therefore called Jesus of Nazareth, although His birthplace was Bethlehem; and those who became His disciples were known as Nazarenes. This is the name, with slight modification, used to this day by Moslems for Christians, Naṣārā - the singular being Naṣrāny.
The town is not named in the Old Testament, although the presence of a spring and the convenience of the site make it probable that the place was occupied in old times. Quaresimus learned that the ancient name was Medina Abiat, in which we may recognize the Arabic el-Medı̄nat el-baiḍah, ?the white town.? Built of the white stone supplied by the limestone rocks around, the description is quite accurate. There is a reference in Mishna (Menāḥōth viii. 6) to the ?white house of the hill? whence wine for the drink offering was brought. An elegy for the 9th of Abib speaks of a ?course? of priests settled in Nazareth. This, however, is based upon an ancient midhrash now lost (Neubauer, Geogr. du Talmud, 82, 85, 190; Delitzsch, Ein Tag in Capernaum, 142). But all this leaves us still in a state of uncertainty.
2. Position and Physical Features:
The ancient town is represented by the modern en-Nāṣirah, which is built mainly on the western and northwestern slopes of a hollow among the lower hills of Galilee, just before they sink into the plain of Esdraelon. It lies about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean at Haifa. The road to the plain and the coast goes over the southwestern lip of the hollow; that to Tiberias and Damascus over the heights to the Northeast. A rocky gorge breaks down southward, issuing on the plain between two craggy hills. That to the West is the traditional Hill of Precipitation (Luk_4:29). This, however, is too far from the city as it must have been in the days of Christ. It is probable that the present town occupies pretty nearly the ancient site; and the scene of that attempt on Jesus' life may have been the cliff, many feet in height, not far from the old synagogue, traces of which are still seen in the western part of the town. There is a good spring under the Greek Orthodox church at the foot of the hill on the North. The water is led in a conduit to the fountain, whither the women and their children go as in old times, to carry home in their jars supplies for domestic use. There is also a tiny spring in the face of the western hill. To the Northwest rises the height on which stands the sanctuary, now in ruins, of Neby Sa‛ı̄n. From this point a most beautiful and extensive view is obtained, ranging on a clear day from the Mediterranean on the West to the Mountain of Bashan on the East; from Upper Galilee and Mt. Hermon on the North to the uplands of Gilead and Samaria on the South The whole extent of Esdraelon is seen, that great battlefield, associated with so many heroic exploits in Israel's history, from Carmel and Megiddo to Tabor and Mt. Gilboa.
3. Present Inhabitants:
There are now some 7,000 inhabitants, mainly Christian, of whom the Greek Orthodox church claims about 3,000. Moslems number about 1,600. There are no Jews. It is the chief market town for the pastoral and agricultural district that lies around it.
4. Labors of Jesus:
In Nazareth, Jesus preached His first recorded sermon (Luk_4:16 ff), when His plainness of speech aroused the homicidal fury of His hearers. ?He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief? (Mat_13:58). Finding no rest or security in Nazareth, He made His home in Capernaum. The reproach implied in Nathanael's question, ?Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?? (Joh_1:46), has led to much speculation. By ingenious emendation of the text Cheyne would read, ?Can the Holy One proceed from Nazareth?? (EB, under the word). Perhaps, however, we should see no more in this than the acquiescence of Nathanael's humble spirit in the lowly estimate of his native province entertained by the leaders of his people in Judea.
5. Later History:
Christians are said to have first settled here in the time of Constantine (Epiphanius), whose mother Helena built the Church of the Annunciation. In crusading times it was the seat of the bishop of Bethscan. It passed into Moslem hands after the disaster to the Crusaders at Ḥaṭṭı̄n (1183). It was destroyed by Sultan Bibars in 1263. In 1620 the Franciscans rebuilt the Church of the Annunciation, and the town rose again from its ruins. Here in 1799 the French general Junot was assailed by the Turks. After his brilliant victory over the Turks at Tabor, Napoleon visited Nazareth. The place suffered some damage in the earthquake of 1837.
Protestant Missions are now represented in Nazareth by agents of the Church Missionary Society, and of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Fig. 275?Nazareth
Naz?areth, a town in Galilee, in which the parents of Jesus were resident, and where in consequence He lived till the commencement of His ministry. It derives all its historical importance from this circumstance, for it is not even named in the Old Testament or by Josephus: which suffices to show that it could not have been a place of any consideration, and was probably no more than a village.
Nazareth is situated about six miles W.N.W. from Mount Tabor, on the western side of a narrow oblong basin, or depressed valley, about a mile long by a quarter of a mile broad. The buildings stand on the lower part of the slope of the western hill, which rises steep and high above them. It is now a small, but more than usually well-built place, containing about three thousand inhabitants, of whom two-thirds are Christians. The flat-roofed houses are built of stone, and are mostly two stories high. The environs are planted with luxuriantly-growing fig-trees, olive-trees, and vines, and the crops of corn are scarcely equaled throughout the length and breadth of Canaan. All the spots which could be supposed to be in any way connected with the history of Christ are, of course, pointed out by the monks and local guides, but on authority too precarious to deserve any credit, and with circumstances too puerile for reverence. It is enough to know that the Lord dwelt here; that for thirty years He trod this spot of earth, and that His eyes were familiar with the objects spread around. In the southwest part of the town is a small Maronite church, under a precipice of the hill, which here breaks off in a perpendicular wall forty or fifty feet in height. Dr. Robinson noticed several such precipices in the western hill around the village, and with very good reason concludes that one of these, probably the one just indicated, may well have been the spot whither the Jews led Jesus, 'unto the brow of the hill whereon the city was built, that they might cast him down headlong'(Luk_4:28-30); and not the precipice, two miles from the village, overlooking the plain of Esdraelon, which monkish tradition indicates to the traveler as the 'Mount of Precipitation.'
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Nazareth
(Ναζρέθ Ναζαρέτ; usually thought to be a Graecized derivative from נֵצֵר, a sprout, Aram. נצראת, see Hengstenberg, Christol. 2, I sq.; comp. Keim, Gesch. Jesu [Zur. 1867], 1:318; but Hitzig, in the Heidelb. Jahrbichern, 1870, page 50, conjectures somewhat wildly an original form, נָזְרִת, with the signif. goddess of success"), the place of residence (but not the birthplace) of our Lord. In the following account we bring together whatever is known respecting this interesting locality. SEE JESUS.
1. Scripture Mention. Nazareth was the town of Joseph and Mary, to which they returned with the infant Jesus (εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἑαυτῶν) after the accomplishment of the events connected with his birth and earliest infancy (Mat_2:22). Previous to that event, the place is altogether unknown to history. In OldTestament Scripture it is never once named, though a town could hardly fail to have existed on so eligible a spot from early times. Josephus, though personally familiar with the whole district in which it lies, is equally silent regarding it. The secluded nature of the spot where it stands, together with its own insignificance, probably combined to shroud it in that obscurity on account of which it would seem to have been divinely chosen for the rearing of God's incarnate Son. As his forerunner, John the Baptist, "was in the desert," unnoticed and unknown, "till the day of his showing unto Israel," so the great Messiah himself, till his public ministry began, was hidden from the world among the Galilaean hills.
The other passages of Scripture which refer expressly to Nazareth, though not numerous, are suggestive and deserve to be recalled here. It was the home of Joseph and Mary (Luk_2:39). The angel announced to the Virgin there the birth of the Messiah (Luk_1:26-28). The holy family returned thither after the flight into Egypt (Mat_2:23). Nazareth is called the native country (ἡ πατρὶς αὑτοῦ) of Jesus: he grew up there from infancy to manhood (Luk_4:16), and was known through life as "The Nazarene." He taught in the synagogue there (Mat_13:54; Luk_4:16), and was dragged by his fellow-townsmen to the precipice in order to be cast down thence and bekilled (εἰς τὸ κατα κρημνίσαι αὐτόν). "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews," was written over his cross (Joh_19:19), and after his ascension he revealed himself under that appellation to the persecuting Saul (Act_22:8). The place has given name to his followers in all ages and all lands, a name which will never cease to be one of honor and reproach. SEE NAZARENE.
The origin of the disrepute in which Nazareth stood (Joh_1:47) is lot certainly known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon with contempt by the people of Judaea because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less cultivated, and were more exposed by their position to contact with the heathen. But Nazareth labored under a special opprobrium, for it was a Glalilean and not a southern Jew who asked the reproachful question, whether "any good thing" could come from that source. The term "good" (ἀγαθόν), having more commonly an ethical sense, it has been suggested that the inhabitants of Nazareth may have had a bad name among their neighbors for irreligion or some laxity of morals. The supposition receives support from the disposition which they manifested towards the person and ministry of our Lord. They attempted to kill him; they expelled him twice (for Luk_4:16-29 and Mat_13:54-58 relate probably to different occurrences) from their borders; they were so wilful and unbelieving that he performed not many miracles among them (Mat_13:58); and, finally, they compelled him to turn his back upon them and reside at Capernaum (Mat_4:13).
2. Location. Nazareth is a moderate journey of three days from Jerusalem, seven hours, or about twenty miles, from Akka or Ptolemais (Act_21:7), five or six hours, or eighteen miles, from the Sea of Galilee, six miles west from Mount Tabor, two hours from Cana, and two or three from Endor and Nain. It is situated among the hills which constitute the south ridges of Lebanon, just before they sink down into the plain of Esdraelon. The traveller, coming from the south, ascends the mountain range by a steep and rugged path, which, winding onwards and upwards through the hills, brings him suddenly into a small sequestered hollow among their summits; and here, nestling close in at the base of the loftiest of the encircling heights, he beholds what must ever be to the Christian one of the most profoundly interesting scenes on the face of this earth-the home for thirty years of the Savior of the world. The surrounding heights vary in altitude; some of them rise to 400 or 500 feet. They have rounded tops, are composed of the glittering limestone which is so common in that country, and, though on the whole sterile and unattractive in appearance, present not an unpleasing aspect, diversified as they are with the foliage of fig-trees and wild shrubs, and with the verdure of occasional fields of grain. Our familiar hollyhock is one of the gay flowers which grow wild there. The enclosed valley is peculiarly rich and well cultivated: it is filled with cornfields, with gardens, hedges of cactus, and clusters of fruit- bearing trees. Being so sheltered by hills, Nazareth enjoys a mild atmosphere and climate. Hence all the fruits of the country as pomegranates, oranges, figs, olives ripen early and attain a rare perfection.
In speaking of the precise position of Nazareth, there is some discrepancy among travellers: Stanley says, "The village stands on the steep slope of the southwestern side of the valley" (Sinai and Palestine, page 365). Wilson (Lands of the Bible, 2:92) observes that "the village of Nasirah. or Nazareth, stands on the eastern side of the basin in which it is situated." Thomson (Land and Book, 2:131) seems to place it on the western side. Dr. Porter (Hand-bookfor Syria and Palestine, 2:359) has described Nazareth as lying at the bottom of "the hill on the north side" of the little plain. An inspection of the accompanying plan shows that it lies at the foot and partly up the slope at the north-western angle of the valley.
Of the identification of the ancient site there can be no doubt. The name of the present village is en-Nazirah, the same, therefore, as of old; it is formed on a hill or mountain (Luk_4:29); it is within the limits of the province of Galilee (Mar_1:9); it is near Cana (whether we assume Kana on the east or Kana on the north-east as the scene of the first miracle), according to the implication in Joh_2:1-2; Joh_2:11; a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luk_4:29); and, finally, a series of testimonies (Reland, Palaest. page 905) reach back to Eusebius, the father of Church history, which represent the place as having occupied an invariable position.
3. History. Of the condition of Nazareth during the earlier centuries of the Christian era next to nothing is known. Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, alludes to it as a village near Mount Tabor. Epiphanius speaks of it as formerly a town, but in his day only a village. Helena, the mother of Constantine, is related to have built the first church of the Annunciation here. In the time of the Crusaders, the episcopal see of Bethsean was transferred there. The birthplace of Christianity was lost to the Christians by their defeat at Hattin in 1183, and was laid utterly in ruins by sultan Bibars in 1263. Ages passed away before it rose again from this prostration. In 1620 the Franciscans rebuilt the church of the Annunciation, and connected a cloister with it. In 1799 the Turks assaulted the French general Junot at Nazareth; and shortly after 2100 French, under Kleber and Napoleon, defeated a Turkish army of 25,000 at the foot of Mount Tabor. Napoleon himself, after that battle, spent a few hours at Nazareth, and reached there the northern limit of his Eastern expedition. The earthquake which destroyed Safed in 1837, injured also Nazareth. No Jews reside there at present, which may beascribed perhaps as much to the hostility of the Christian sects as to their own hatred of the prophet who was sent to redeem Israel."
4. Traditionary Localities. Epiphanius, in his book against heresies, written in the latter half of the 4th century, states that, from times prior to those of Josephus, onward to the reign of the elder Constantine, none but Jews were allowed to live in it. Being himself a native of Judaea, and born, as is believed, of Jewish parents, his information on such points as these is not likely to have beel incorrect. If so, it effectually overturns all confidence in those many monkish traditions of which the modern Nazareth is full. If several centuries elapsed before Christians resorted to it, or dwelt in it at all, it must needs have been utterly impossible to identify, as those traditions pretend to do, the precise locality of any one of the memorable incidents from which it derives its undying fame.
In the 6th century, although, so far as appears, no trace had been found of either the house of Joseph and Mary or of the scene of the annunciation, those who trade in discoveries of that kind were then already at work. Antoninus Martyr, who in the course of that century went from Tyre to visit Nazareth, found there a synagogue, in which, as he was told, "had stood the very bench on which, along with the children of the place, Jesus in his childhood had sat; but which, to keep it out of the hands of the Christians, the Jews had carried off" (De urbibus et vicis Palestinae). In the immediately succeedingcentury, however, almost everything of which tradition boasts at the present day in Nazareth had become an accepted and firmly-established belief of that superstitious age. Writing of the holy places in the 7th century, Adamnanus expressly mentions one great church as having been built over the site of the house in which our Lord was brought up; and another on the spot where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin, to announce to her that divine mystery which has made her blessed among women. Phocas, a writer of the 12th century, alludes to the same traditions, as still studiously cherished; and specially notices the fountain, in a small cave beneath a splendid church, as that at which Mary was wont to drink, and where the angel appeared to her; and also to the house of Joseph as having been changed into a most beautiful place of Christian worship.
Tradition, however, is not always sufficiently. careful of its own consistency. For it would have us to believe that this house of Joseph, which in the 12th century had been so transmuted was, in its original form of Joseph's dwelling, carried away bodily from Nazareth by the hands of angels, and set down on the hill above Fiume, at the head of the Adriatic Gulf; and that from thence, after a short stay in the plain below, it was conveyed across the sea to the eastern slope of the Apennines, where, as the santa casa, within the magnificent church of our Lady of Loretto, it stands to this day, and continues to be the most frequented and honored of all the holy places in the world! Those who are able to get over all the other difficulties connected with this marvellous story, will not be much embarrassed by the fact that, while the actual house of Joseph, wherever it stood, was no doubt built of the grayisihwhite limestone of which the whole country around Nazareth is formed. the santa casa at Loretto is built of a dark-red stone, to which there is nothing like in all the land of Judea. Although the miraculous transportation of the holy house took place, according to the tradition regarding it, about the close of the 13th century, there is no trace of the existence of the tradition itself till near the end of the 15th century.
That this monstrous fable should have been formally recited and canonized in a bull of the lettered and luxurious sceptic, pope Leo X, serves only to show that there is no delusion too gross for the Papal Church to practice on human credulity and superstition. There can be little doubt that Nazareth itself had nothing whatever to do with the originating of a story which tended so directly to injure its own renown by robbing it of one of its most precious treasures. The theory of its invention suggested by Stanley is in all probability the true one. "Nazareth was taken by sultan Khalil in 1291, when he stormed the last refuge of the Crusaders in the neighboring city of Acre. From that time not Nazareth; only, but the whole of Palestine was closed to the devotions of Europe. The Crusaders were expelled from Asia, and in Europe the spirit of the crusades was extinct. But the natural longing to see the scenes of the events of the sacred history the superstitious craving to win, for prayer, the favor of consecrated places-did not expire with the crusades. Can we wonder that, under such circumstances, there should have arisen the feeling, the desire, the belief that if Mohammed would not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed? The house of Loretto is the petrifaction, so to speak, of the last sigh of the crusades!" (Sinai and Palestine, pages 448, 449). The existence of this purely European tradition has proved a source of considerable perplexity to the Franciscan monks of Nazareth; for while the pope's bull and the infallibility of their Church compel them to receive it, they find it somewhat puzzling to harmonize it with what they have to show, and to contend for, within the walls of their own convent. To illustrate this awkward conflict of incompatible claims, Stanley exhibits, at the head of his chapter on the subject, diagrams of the ground-plan of the holy house at Loretto and of the site of the same pretended house at Nazareth plans which by no possibility can be made to agree.
The extensive edifice which now occupies the place of the church built on the same spot by the Crusaders was begun in the early part of the 17th century, that of the Crusaders having lain in ruins for more than 300 years. The modern structure has been gradually enlarged, and now constitutes, with its numerous conventual buildings, by much the most imposing object that meets the traveller's eye as he comes in sight of Nazareth. It is the Latin convent, and includes within its high-walled enclosure the church already spoken of, the Church of the Annunciation. The, church itself is nearly a square of seventy feet, divided, by four massive piers which support the vaulted roof, into nave, choir, and aisles. The piers and walls are covered with canvas hangings, painted, in imitation of tapestry, with Scripture scenes. The sacred grotto, the true holy place, is beneath the floor of the church, and is entered by a broad flight of fifteen steps which lead down into it. Here there is first a vestibule of twenty-five feet by ten, from which a low-arched opening admits the visitor into an inner chamber of the same size-the veritable scene, according to the tradition of the Latin Church, of the ever-memorable Annunciation. Within this sanctum, and directly opposite the entrance into it, is a marble altar; and beneath it on the floor a marble slab, with a cross in the centre, professedly marking the place where the Virgin stood when she received the message from on high. On the marble pavement of the grotto is this inscription: Hic Verbum caro factum est. From the roof of this grotto the fragment of a granite column hangs, and beneath it the lower part of what the monks allege to be the same column remains inserted in the floor; the middle part of the column, they say, having been broken in pieces by the Saracen infidels in order to bring down the roof. Unfortunately the two parts of the column are of different kinds of stone the one being of gray granite, the other of Cipolino marble, betraying the clumsiness with which the contrivance has been executed. In another chamber, above and behind the altar, there is an apocryphal picture which claims to represent the "vera imago Salvatoris nostri, Domini Jesu Christi, ad Regem Abgarum missa.
At some distance from the Latin convent is a modern church, also belonging to the Latins, within which is shown a piece of an old wall part, as their tradition would have it believed, of Joseph's workshop. In another chapel is the mensa Christi, a large table-shaped fragment of solid rock, rising about three feet above the floor, on which, it is told, our Lord ate with his disciples both before and after his resurrection. Finally there is the synagogue from which Jesus was dragged by the multitude to the brow of the hill on which the city stood, with the design of casting him down.
Such are the "chief sights" in Nazareth which the Latin Church has to show, and in which it glories. The Greek Church, also, has something to exhibit, for she too has her Church of the Annunciation. It is located over a fountain, said to be that mentioned in one of the apocryphal gospels as adjoining the scene of that event. It is at a short distance from the present public fountain, and is sometimes distinctively called the Chapel of the Angel Gabriel.
Two localities possess, though in different ways, a certain-interest which no one will fail to recognise. One of these is the "Fountain of the Virgin, situated at the north-eastern extremity of the town, where, according to one tradition, the mother of Jesus received the angel's salutation (Luk_1:28). Though we mayv attach no importance to this latter belief, we must. on other accounts, regard the spring w-ith a feeling akin to that of religious veneration. It derives its name from the fact that Mary, during her life at Nazareth, no doubt accompanied often by "the child Jesus," must have been accustomed to repair to this fountain for water as is the practice of the women of that village at the present day. Certainly, as Dr. Clarke observes (Travels, 2:427)," if there be a spot throughout the Holy Land that was undoubtedly honored by her presence, we may consider this to have been the place; because the situation of a copious spring is not liable to change, and because the custom of repairing thither to draw water has been continued among the female inhabitants of Nazareth from the earliest period of its history." The well-worn path which leads thither from the town has been trodden by the feet of almost countless generations. It presents at all hours a busy scene, from the number of those, hurrying to and fro, engaged in the labor of water-carrying. (See the cut, volume 3, page 632, of this Cyclopcedia.)
The other place is that of the attempted Precipitation. We are directed to the true scene of this occurrence, not so much by any tradition as by internal indications in the Gospel history itself. A prevalent opinion of the country has transferred the event to a hill about two miles south-east of the town. But there is no evidence that Nazareth ever occupied a different site from the present one; and that a mob, whose determination was to put to death the object of their rage, should repair to so distant a place for that purpose is entirely incredible. The present village, as already stated. lies along the hill-side, but much nearer the base than the summit. Above the bulk of the town are several rocky ledges over which a person could not be thrown without almost certain destruction. But there is one very remarkable precipice, almost perpendicular and forty or fifty feet high, near the Maronite church, which may well be supposed to be the identical one over which the infuriated townsmen of Jesus attempted to hurl him. 'The singular precision with which the narrative relates the transaction deserves a remark or two. Casual readers would understand from the account that Nazareth was situated on the summit, and that the people brought Jesns dowi' thence to the brow of the hill as if it were-betweeen the .tosn and. the valley. If these inferences were correct, the narrative and the locality would then be at variance with each other. Even Reland (Palest. page 905) says: "Ναζαρέθ urbs aedificata super rupem, unde Christum precipitare conati sunt." But the language of the evangelist, when more closely examined, is found neither to require the inferences in question on the one hand. nor to exclude them on the other. What he asserts is that the incensed crowd "rose up and cast Jesus out of the city, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which the city was built, that they might cast him down headlong." It will be remarked here, in the first place, that it is not said that the people either went up or descended in order to reach the precipice, butsimply that they took the Savior to it, wherever it was; and, in the second place, that it is not said that the city was built "on the brow of the hill," but equally as well that the precipice was "on the brow, without deciding whether the cliff overlooked the town (as is the fact) or was below it. It will be seen, therefore, how very nearly the terms of the history approach a mistake and yet avoid it. As Paley remarks in another case, none but a true account could advance thus to the very brink of contradiction without falling into it. SEE PRECIPITATION.
5. Present Condition. Modern Nazareth belongs to the better class of Eastern villages. It has a population of 3000 or 4000: a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians. There is one mosque, a Franciscan convent of huge dimensions, but displaying no great architectural beauty, a small Maronite church, a Greek church, and perhaps a church or chapel of some of the other confessions. Protestant missions have been attempted, but with no very marked success. Most of the houses are well built of stone, and have a neat and comfortable appearance. As streams in the rainy season are liable to pour down with violence from the hills, every "wise man," instead of building upon the loose soil on the surface, digs deep, and lays his foundation upon the rock (ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν) which is found so generally in that country at a certain depth in the earth. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, and after rain are so full of mud and mire as to be almost impassable.
A description of Nazareth would be incomplete without mention of the remarkable view from the tomb of Neby Ismail on one of the hills behind the town. It must suffice to indicate merely the objects within sight. In the north are seen the ridges of Lebanon and, high above all, the white top of Hermon; in the west, Carmel, glimpses of the Mediterranean, the bay and the town of Akka; east and south-east are Gilead, Tabor, Gilboa; and south, the plain of Esdraelon and the mountains of Samaria, with villages on every side, among which are Kana, Nein, Endor, Zerin (Jezreel), and Tdannuk (Taanach). It is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and sublime spectacles (for it combines the two features) which earth has to show. Dr. Robinson's elaborate description of the scene (Bib. Res. 2:336, 337) conveys no exaggerated idea of its magnificence or historical interest. It is easy to believe that the Savior, during the days of his seclusion in the adjacent valley, often came to this very spot, and looked forth thence upon those glorious works of the Creator which so lift the soul upward to him.
Nazareth has long been distinguished for the peculiar beauty of its women. Antoninus Martyr found many there in the 6th century, who pretended to have received this gift from the Virgin Mary; and travellers state that their descendants retain it still.
See, in addition to the above-cited authorities, Lightfoot, Horae Heb. page 918; Quaresmius, 3:834; Schulz, Leitungen, 5:192; Richter, Wallf. page 57; Schubert, 3:169; Burckhardt, 2:583; Scholtz, Reis. page 247; Hackett, Illustr. of Script. page 301; Bonar, Land of Promise, page 397; Sepp, Das Heil. Land, 2:73; Tobler, Nazareth in Palastina (Berlin, 1868).
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
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