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branchtown |: why branchtown?
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Makes it so much more meaningful when Jesus is in the Acts of the Apostles called "Jesus of Nazareth"
Good morning Peter,
The only problem with this article is that it is mixing what in the narrative of Matthew 2 is seperate.
Matthew 2:6. And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah:
for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
This prophecy of Micah 5:2 shows that he is of the lineage of David, as does Isaiah 11:1.
netzer translated branch is not at all related to Nazareth/Nazarene, referred to later in
Matthew 2:23 This connection is a contrivance and misses the point. Being referred to as
Jesus of Nazareth was to separate himself from the royal lineage. The point of the topic then
is why? Back to OP#1:
John 7:
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said,
Truly this is the Prophet.
41 Others said, This is Christ.
But some said, Will Christ come out of Galilee?
42 Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes from the seed of David
and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
43 So there was a division among the people because of Him.
Along what lines are the people divided?
Here is the question that the OP poses, post #2 points to the answer.
Mark 12:
35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, How is it that the
scribes say that Christ is the Son of David?
36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.
37. David himself calls Him Lord; how then is He his Son?
And the common people heard Him gladly.
Nazareth in Galilee was separated from Judea by Samaria, and in the region of the Decapolis.
This region embraced the Greco-Roman culture. When Jesus called the religious elite hypocrites,
He was using the Greek word for theatre actor. The Jewish population were called Hellenists,
(KJV Grecians) who were discriminated against in the early church. Acts 6:1
Jesus was also rejected at the synagogue of Nazareth, Luke 4
So while having a Jewish population, Nazareth was very much a gentile/greek city, and the prophets,
especially Isaiah, declare that the Messiah would bring forth salvation to the gentiles.
Matthew 2:6 and 2:23 cannot be connected through netzer, which has nothing to do with Nazareth,
and everything to do with Micah 5:2 and Isaiah 11:1.
Nazarene does echo Nazarite "separated one", but that has more to do with John the Baptist. It however,
does allow the Nazarite and vow, such as the narrative of Samson, to foreshadow in the natural, the spiritual children of God, as it is written "come out from among them, and be separate".