Nazareth

Nazareth
Hometown of Jesus
according to the Gospels (Mark 1:9; Matt 2:23, 21:11; Luke 1:26, 2:4; John
1:45-46), situated about 20 miles east of the Mediterranean & 15 miles
west of Lake Gennesareth, less than 5 miles
west of Mt. Tabor, the highest point in southern Galilee. Built on the southeastern
slope of a ridge at 1300 feet above sea level, with a commanding view of the
broad valley of Jezre'el to the south, Nazareth probably gained its Hebrew
name as a lookout or "watchtower" for the defense of Galilee [from
natzar: "to watch" or "to guard"].

view from Megiddo toward
Nazareth (right horizon) 15 miles northwest across valley of
Jezreel

Tombs & agricultural evidence (silos, cisterns,
olive & wine presses) provide concrete evidence that the site was
inhabited from the early days of Israelite occupation of the land [12th c.
BCE]. But since it had only one spring, the ancient settlement was never
large. The 1st c. village, whose population was less than 500, was
overshadowed by the fortified town of Japha just one mile south---described by
Josephus as the "largest village in Galilee" (Vita 230)---and the
city of Sepphoris, just 3.5 miles to the
northwest.

Nazareth itself was not a site of historic or major
strategic importance &, thus, did not merit notice in any ancient text
apart from the gospel references to it as the place of Jesus' origin. The
earliest non-Christian reference is an inscription discovered in the synagogue
of Caesarea Maritima that names
Nazareth as one of the places in Galilee where the priestly families of Judea
migrated after the Hadrianic war [135 CE]. But Nazareth remained a small
Jewish village until the 4th c. CE when Constantine constructed a church that
became a center for Christian pilgrimages. It was elevated to the status of
city in the 7th c. CE. Since the 17th c. the Franciscans have developed it
into the largest Christian center in the land of Israel.

For further recent information about
archaeological & historical evidence, see:

Rousseau, John J. & Rami Arav.
Jesus & His World. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995) pp.
248-251.

Horsley, Richard A. Archaeology,
History & Society in Galilee. (Valley Forge PA: Trinity Press
International, 1996) pp. 107-112.

Excavation
Results. Well illustrated report of Bellarmino Bagatti's 1955
excavations related to reconstruction of the Franciscan church of the
Annunciation.

Nazareth Village
Farm. Report of excavations by Center for Study of Early
Christianity.

Perspective on the World of Jesus

Copyright © 1999-2003 by Mahlon H.
Smith
All rights reserved.