Nazareth ( /ˈnæzərəθ/; Hebrew: נָצְרַת, Natzrat or Natzeret; Arabic: اَلنَّاصِرَة an-Nāṣira or an-Naseriyye) is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel"; the population is made up predominantly of Arab citizens of Israel, the majority of whom are Muslim. In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with man...
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Nazareth ( /ˈnæzərəθ/; Hebrew: נָצְרַת, Natzrat or Natzeret; Arabic: اَلنَّاصِرَة an-Nāṣira or an-Naseriyye) is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel"; the population is made up predominantly of Arab citizens of Israel, the majority of whom are Muslim. In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events.
Nazareth is not mentioned in pre-Christian texts and appears in many different Greek forms in the New Testament. There is no consensus regarding the origin of the name. One theory holds that "Nazareth" is derived from the Hebrew noun ne·ṣer, נֵ֫צֶר, meaning branch. Ne·ṣer is not the common Hebrew word for "branch," but one understood as a messianic title based on a passage in the Book of Isaiah. Alternatively, the name may derive from the verb na·ṣar, נָצַר, "watch, guard, keep." The negative references...
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