Meaning of Nazareth?
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davidmartin
- Posts: 1621
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Re: Meaning of Nazareth?
damn, you're right. in this case i wonder what Ephrem has to say about it...
Re: Meaning of Nazareth?
It almost makes me wonder if "Matthew" had some understanding that "Nazarene" had some association with "Gnostic" type concepts and was consciously trying to subvert it to develop a meaning for it that had nothing to do with its more common usage at his time.
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StephenGoranson
- Posts: 2609
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Re: Meaning of Nazareth?
Ok, you wonder. Any actual evidence?
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davidmartin
- Posts: 1621
- Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:51 pm
Re: Meaning of Nazareth?
careful with 'gnostic'
i mean, it isn't just gnostics that held to deeper 'inner truths' being important (i'd argue sometimes they appear just as 'religious' as the orthodox but in the opposite direction). even Thomas isn't gnostic
but your point is a good one, did Matthew try to steer away from this?
ok Ephrem from a crude search seems to hold to the 'branch' interpretation
what i did find was SA's claim Marcion had Bethsaida not Nazareth is accurate
so if you were an *ev priority guy, you could argue it was Bethsaida at first and the change to Nazareth came about later to explain Nazarene was merely a place not having another meaning that could then fit with prophecy. The village of 'Nazareth' could still be where any historical Jesus came from, just it got renamed later.
I checked the Peshitta and here the word appears Nazriya, which is more pointing to Nazirite vow but i'm not 100% certain, it looks that way though. I didn't check the old syriac yet or the aramaic lectionaries.
From 'Fragments of the comentary of ephrem on the diatesseron'
[But if he preached about their God to them then this must have
been what provoked their anger; nothing had passed between
them before], and his visit to Bethsaida [so, according to Marcion,
and not Nazareth] was only marked on their side by the suggestion that the physician should heal himself
i mean, it isn't just gnostics that held to deeper 'inner truths' being important (i'd argue sometimes they appear just as 'religious' as the orthodox but in the opposite direction). even Thomas isn't gnostic
but your point is a good one, did Matthew try to steer away from this?
ok Ephrem from a crude search seems to hold to the 'branch' interpretation
what i did find was SA's claim Marcion had Bethsaida not Nazareth is accurate
so if you were an *ev priority guy, you could argue it was Bethsaida at first and the change to Nazareth came about later to explain Nazarene was merely a place not having another meaning that could then fit with prophecy. The village of 'Nazareth' could still be where any historical Jesus came from, just it got renamed later.
I checked the Peshitta and here the word appears Nazriya, which is more pointing to Nazirite vow but i'm not 100% certain, it looks that way though. I didn't check the old syriac yet or the aramaic lectionaries.
From 'Fragments of the comentary of ephrem on the diatesseron'
[But if he preached about their God to them then this must have
been what provoked their anger; nothing had passed between
them before], and his visit to Bethsaida [so, according to Marcion,
and not Nazareth] was only marked on their side by the suggestion that the physician should heal himself