In Luke's Gospel, Nazareth is first described as 'a town of Galilee' and home of Mary. In the Qur'an, Christians are referred to as naṣārā, meaning 'followers of an-Nāṣirī', or 'those who follow Jesus of Nazareth'.

The Arabic name for Nazareth is an-Nāṣira, and Jesus ( Arabic: يَسُوع, Yasū`) is also called an-Nāṣirī, reflecting the Arab tradition of according people an attribution, a name denoting whence a person comes in either geographical or tribal terms. Such linguistic discrepancies may be explained, however, by 'a peculiarity of the 'Palestinian' Aramaic dialect wherein a sade (ṣ) between two voiced (sonant) consonants tended to be partially assimilated by taking on a zayin (z) sound'. This has led some scholars to question whether 'Nazareth' and its cognates in the New Testament actually refer to the settlement known traditionally as Nazareth in Lower Galilee. If there were a tsade (צ) in the original Semitic form, as in the later Hebrew forms, it would normally have been transcribed in Greek with a sigma (σ) instead of a zeta (ζ). Greek NazaraĪnother theory holds that the Greek form Ναζαρά ( Nazará), used in Matthew and Luke, may derive from an earlier Aramaic form of the name, or from another Semitic language form. The negative references to Nazareth in the Gospel of John suggest that ancient Jews did not connect the town's name to prophecy. ṣar, נָצַר, 'watch, guard, keep,' and understood either in the sense of 'watchtower' or 'guard place', implying the early town was perched on or near the brow of the hill, or, in the passive sense as 'preserved, protected' in reference to its secluded position.Alternatively, the name may derive from the verb na One view suggests this toponym might be an example of a tribal name used by resettling groups on their return from exile. ṣer, ‏נֵ֫צֶר‎, and alludes to the prophetic, messianic words in Book of Isaiah 11:1, 'from (Jesse's) roots a Branch ( netzer) will bear fruit'.One view holds that 'Nazareth' is derived from one of the Hebrew words for 'branch', namely ne Īs the largest Arab city in Israel, Nazareth is today a cultural, political, religious, economic and commercial center of the Arab citizens of Israel, and became also a center of Arab and Palestinian nationalism. Joseph's Church, the Mensa Christi Church, and the Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent. Other important churches in Nazareth include the Synagogue Church, St. According to Greek Orthodox belief, the same event took place at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, also known as Church of Saint Gabriel.

It contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, where, according to Catholic tradition, angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would conceive and bear Jesus. The Church of the Annunciation is considered one of the largest Christian sites of worship in the Middle East. Since late antiquity, Nazareth has been a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events. The city grew steadily during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when European powers invested in the construction of churches, monasteries, educational and health facilities. In the 18th century, Zahir al-Umar transformed Nazareth into a large town by encouraging immigration to it. The city declined under Mamluk rule, and following the Ottoman conquest, the city's Christian residents were expelled, only to return once Fakhr ad-Dīn II granted them permission to do so. It became an important city during the Crusades after Tancred established it as the capital of the Principality of Galilee. Nazareth was a Jewish village during the Roman and Byzantine periods and is described in the New Testament as the childhood home of Jesus. įindings unearthed in the neighboring Qafzeh Cave show that the area around Nazareth was populated in the prehistoric period. The inhabitants are predominantly Arab citizens of Israel, of whom 69% are Muslim and 30.9% Christian. Nazareth is known as 'the Arab capital of Israel'. Nazareth ( / ˈ n æ z ər ə θ/ NAZ-ər-əth Arabic: النَّاصِرَة, an-Nāṣira Hebrew: נָצְרַת, Nāṣəraṯ Syriac: ܢܨܪܬ, Naṣrath) is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel.

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