Meaning of NAZARENE

"from Nazareth."
(a) Born in Nazareth or residing there (Mt. 2:23; 26:71; Mr. 16:6). In Is. 11:1 the Messiah is called "nêser", a rod from the trunk of Jesse.

It is an offspring of the royal family, which has been deprived of its glory and reduced to the humility of its first origin. The Spanish versions also have "new" (Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12).

The evangelist saw the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in the providential intervention that indicated to Jesus' parents that they should settle in Nazareth (Mt. 2:23).

If Nazareth means "protector" or "guardian," Matthew undoubtedly sees the fulfillment of the prophecy in the sound analogy and in the poor reputation that the city and its inhabitants had.

But if the name derives from the same root as "nêser" (see NAZARETH), the fulfillment of the prophecy is found in the common sense of the two expressions (Mt. 26:71, Gr. "Nazõraios", from Nazareth, or Nazarene; cf. Mr. 16:6).
(b) Adept of Christianity; term of contempt (Acts 24:5).