# Is the Biblical 'Nazareth' a mistranslation?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-biblical-nazareth-a-mistranslation/563922>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [December 12, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-biblical-nazareth-a-mistranslation/563922 "2010-12-12T22:48:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-biblical-nazareth-a-mistranslation/563922/21 "2010-12-20T14:26:11Z")

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> [@JThunder](#):
>
> _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_ is also a work of fiction that’s[filled with historical inaccuracies](http://www.theholygrail.org.uk/holy_blood_holy_grail_book_truth.html). The authors can put forward any theories that they like, but it would be foolish to accord them any credibility.

I know, I know. But their “nazirite” hypothesis is still worth mentioning in this thread, if only to give somebody a chance to refute it.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-biblical-nazareth-a-mistranslation/563922/22 "2010-12-20T15:10:14Z")

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> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Linky no worky…

Hmmm. Just worked for me when I clicked on it. Try this: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA)

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**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-biblical-nazareth-a-mistranslation/563922/23 "2010-12-20T16:27:45Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> The Old Testament mentions “Nazarite” but never “Nazareth.” The New Testament reverses this (and also mentions “Nazarene”).

I think that all this talk about Jesus being a Nazirite is a colossal red herring. (Again, let’s remember that the authors of _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_ were not historians or Bible scholars, and that their book contained some rather appalling factual errors.)

In the Old Testament, the Messiah was repeatedly (by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah) described as a branch (e.g. “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” – Isaiah 11:1) – a small thing of humble beginnings, growing inconspicuously and inauspiciously, coming from humble origins. (Note, for example, that the Messiah is said to sprout from the lineage of the humble Jesse, rather than the mighty king David.) The word for “branch” is almost identical to the word “Nazareth,” so[Matthew was apparently making a reference to this bit of wordplay](http://bible.org/seriespage/slaughter-innocents-matthew-213-23). This ties in with the entirety of the Matthew account, which emphasized Jesus’ lowly origins,

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