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Nazareth, Nazareth

The Nazareth Range, in which the town lies, is the southernmost of several parallel east-west hill ranges that characterize the elevated tableau of Lower Galilee. In order from south to north, these ranges (ridges) are the Nazareth, Tir'an, Yodfat, Shezor, and Mount Haluz. The valleys between them are the Tir'an, Bet Netofa, Saknin, and Bet Ha-Kerem. See E. Orni and E. Efrat, Geography of Israel (Jerusalem, 1964).

However, the hill in question (the Nebi Sa'in) is far too steep for ancient dwellings and averages a 14% grade in the venerated area. B. Bagatti, Excavations in Nazareth, Plate XI, top right.

The surrounding site was excavated in 1997-98 by Y. Alexandre, and the archaeological remains exposed were ascertained to date from the Roman, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. Alexandre, Y. Archaeological Excavations at Marys Well, Nazareth, Israel Antiquities Authority bulletin, May 1, 2006.

It contains an inscription known as the "Ordinance of Caesar" that outlines the penalty of death for those who violate tombs or graves. However, it is suspected that this inscription came to Nazareth from somewhere else (possibly Sepphoris). Bagatti writes: we are not certain that it was found in Nazareth, even though it came from Nazareth to Paris. At Nazareth there lived various vendors of antiquities who got ancient material from several places. Bagatti, B.

Kopp, Beitrge zur Geschichte Nazareths. Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society , vol. 18 (1938), p. 206, n.1. Jack Finegan describes additional archaeological evidence related to settlement in the Nazareth basin during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and adds that "Nazareth was a strongly Jewish settlement in the Roman period." The Archaeology of the New Testament , Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1992: pages 44-46.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph and Mary settle in Nazareth after returning to Israel from Egypt.

Some commentators suggest that it means Nazareth was very small and unimportant. But the question does not speak of Nazareths size but of its goodness . In fact, Nazareth was described negatively by the evangelists, for it did not believe in Jesus and he could do no mighty work there (Gospel of Mark 6:5). In all four gospels we read the famous saying, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house (Gospel of Matthew 13:57; Mk 6:4; Lk 4:24; Gospel of John 4:44). In one passage the Nazarenes even attempt to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff (Lk 4:29). Many scholars since W. Wrede (in 1901) W. Wrede, Das Messiasgeheimnis in der Evangelien (1901), English translation, The Messianic Secret , Cambridge: J. Clarke, 1971 have noted the so-called Messianic secret, whereby Jesus true nature and mission were unseen by many, including by his inner circle of disciples (Mk 8:27-33; cf. only those to whom the Father reveals Jesus will be saved, Jn.6:65; 17:6, 9, etc.). Nazareth, being the home of those near and dear to Jesus, apparently suffered negatively in relation to this doctrine. Thus, Nathanaels question, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? is consistent with a negative view of Nazareth in the canonical gospels, and with the fact that "even his brothers did not believe in him" (Jn 7:5).

Also, linking the word "Nazarene" to the name "Nazareth" is linguistically problematic.

This likely reflects its lack of prominence both in Galilee and in Judaea. Article Nazareth in the Anchor Bible Dictionary.

For those gospel writers who do mention Nazareth, most scholars place their work between the two Jewish-Roman wars (70 AD-132 AD), which is also the earliest possible dating for the Roman (kokh-type) tombs in the Nazareth basin (see "Earliest history & archaeological evidence" above).

The town was not a field of battle during 1948 Arab-Israeli War before the first truce on 11 June, although some of the villagers had joined the loosely organized peasant resistance forces, and troops from the Arab Liberation Army had entered Nazareth. During the ten days of fighting which occurred between the first and second truce, Nazareth capitulated to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel on 16 June, after little more than token resistance. The surrender was formalized in a written agreement, where the town leaders agreed to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including brigade commander Ben Dunkelman, (the leader of the operation), that no harm would come to the civilians of the town.

This site used to be the home of a school built during the Ottoman rule. The school was named al-Harbyeh (in Arabic means military), and many elderly people in Nazareth still remember it as the school site, nevertheless, the same site still contains,the Shihab-Eddin shrine, along with several shops owned by the waqf (Muslim community ownership). The school building continued to serve as a government school until it was demolished to allow for the plaza to be built.The initial argument between the different political factions in town (represented in the local council), was on where the borders of the shrine and shops starts and where it ends. The initial government approval of subsequent plans for a large mosque to be constructed at the site led to protests from Christian leaders worldwide, which continued after the papal visit. Finally, in 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque.

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