| Revision as of 02:00, 4 March 2007 editNoogster (talk | contribs)395 edits New section← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:19, 25 March 2007 edit undoBaruch ben Yochanan (talk | contribs)2 edits As a Nazarene myself, I have removed what is obvious error on the page, and have inserted a more insightful and truthful reprensentation of what is a Nazarene.Next edit → | ||
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| The '''Nazarenes''' (Hebrew: Netzarim, '''נצרים''') were a group of early followers of ] of Nazareth who, like the ]s, were noteworthy for refusing to follow ] in its complete break with ]. <ref>{{cite web | The '''Nazarenes''' (Hebrew: Netzarim, '''נצרים''') were a group of early followers of ] of Nazareth who, like the ]s, were noteworthy for refusing to follow ] in its complete break with ]. <ref>{{cite web | ||
| |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=140&letter=N&search=nazarenes | |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=140&letter=N&search=nazarenes | ||
| |title=Jewish Encylopedia: Nazarenes Article | |title=Jewish Encylopedia: Nazarenes Article. This group of people represent the original doctrine taught by Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah, and was carried on by His brothers and disciples after His death. | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| </ref> The sect may have been started by ], the brother of Jesus. Note that the terms "Nazarene" and "'']''", (in ]: נזיר, '''nazir''', referring to a ] who took an ] vow described in {{bibleverse||Numbers|6:1-21|HE}}), are not related and merely sound alike. | |||
| ==Derivation of Nazarene== | ==Derivation of Nazarene== | ||
| According to the standard reference for ], the ''Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament'', ]-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker, University of Chicago Press, 2nd ed., 1979: {{polytonic|Ναζωραῖος}}/'''Nazoraios''' (plural: Nazoraioi) is translated into English as "Nazarene". It is predominantly a title of Jesus and found in ], ], ] and ]. In contrast, the ] uses {{polytonic|Ναζαρηνός}}/Nazarenos, which means "coming from Nazareth", as does {{bibleverse|Luke||4:34|49}} (parallel of {{bibleverse|Mark||1:24|49}}) and {{bibleverse|Luke||24:19|49}}. {{bibleverse|Matthew||2:23|49}} says that Jesus was called the Nazarene because he grew up in ]. |
According to the standard reference for ], the ''Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament'', ]-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker, University of Chicago Press, 2nd ed., 1979: {{polytonic|Ναζωραῖος}}/'''Nazoraios''' (plural: Nazoraioi) is translated into English as "Nazarene". It is predominantly a title of Jesus and found in ], ], ] and ]. In contrast, the ] uses {{polytonic|Ναζαρηνός}}/Nazarenos, which means "coming from Nazareth", as does {{bibleverse|Luke||4:34|49}} (parallel of {{bibleverse|Mark||1:24|49}}) and {{bibleverse|Luke||24:19|49}}. {{bibleverse|Matthew||2:23|49}} says that Jesus was called the Nazarene because he grew up in ]. Hence, the followers of Jesus of Nazareth would likewise be called Nazarenes. | ||
| In the ] translation, Jesus is called the Nazarene in {{bibleverse||Matthew|2:23|NASB}}; {{bibleverse||Mark|10:47|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|14:67|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|16:6|NSAB}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|24:19|NASB}}; {{bibleverse||John|18:5|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:7|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||John|19:19|NASB}}; {{bibleverse||Acts|2:22|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|3:6|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|4:10|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|6:14|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|22:8|NASB}}. According to {{bibleverse|Acts||24:1-9|NASB}}, ] was apprehended and accused by the attorney of the Jerusalem High Priest ] and Pharisaic "Jews" of being "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" after having been advised in Acts 21:23 to accompany four men having taken a Nazarite vow into the temple. | In the ] translation, Jesus is called the Nazarene in {{bibleverse||Matthew|2:23|NASB}}; {{bibleverse||Mark|10:47|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|14:67|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|16:6|NSAB}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|24:19|NASB}}; {{bibleverse||John|18:5|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:7|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||John|19:19|NASB}}; {{bibleverse||Acts|2:22|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|3:6|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|4:10|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|6:14|NASB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|22:8|NASB}}. According to {{bibleverse|Acts||24:1-9|NASB}}, ] was apprehended and accused by the attorney of the Jerusalem High Priest ] and Pharisaic "Jews" of being "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" after having been advised in Acts 21:23 to accompany four men having taken a Nazarite vow into the temple. | ||
| ⚫ | Since the word was apparently used by the earliest Jewish sect of followers of Jesus of Nazareth, adopting it lays claim to an authentically Torah-based and Jewish structure of belief, typically rejecting modern Christianity as having been ] from "normative" Judaism by ]. Paul is known as the forerunner of this sect, as he went from synagogue to synagogue throughout Judea and the Hellenistic world, preaching his message. Frequently, in his epistles, he challenges Jews and Gentiles alike to follow Jewish law and customs, and at the same time believe one is justified by faith in Jesus (Yeshua). | ||
| In all, the following derivations have been suggested: | In all, the following derivations have been suggested: | ||
| *The place-name ''Nazara'' (which later became ]), as in the Greek form ''Iesous Nazarenos''. This is the traditional interpretation within mainstream Christianity, and it still seems the obvious interpretation to many modern Christians. {{bibleref|Matthew|2:23}} reads that "and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene"" (]) (Greek is {{polytonic|Ναζωραῖος}}/Nazoraios). |
*The place-name ''Nazara'' (which later became ]), as in the Greek form ''Iesous Nazarenos''. This is the traditional interpretation within mainstream Christianity, and it still seems the obvious interpretation to many modern Christians. {{bibleref|Matthew|2:23}} reads that "and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene"" (]) (Greek is {{polytonic|Ναζωραῖος}}/Nazoraios). | ||
| *The word ''neitzer'' meaning "branch" or "off-shoot" (as in Isaiah 11:1 נֵצֶר) and the following 3 verses tell of the seven qualities of Messiah which makes up the Branch. These seven qualities are symbolized in the seven branched menorah which represents the Malchut Elohim (Kingdom of God) or the Tree of Life. This also in turn refer to the claim that Jesus was a "descendant of ]", or to the view that Jesus (or rather the teachings he or his followers advocated) were an offshoot from ]. Until the 20th century "neitzer" was the undisputed etymology behind Nazareth. | |||
| *The word ''nazur'', meaning separate in Aramaic. The word is related to Nazir. There are a number of references to Nazirites/Nazarites in the ] and ]. A ] (נְזִיר) was a Jew who had taken special vows of dedication to the Lord whereby he abstained for a specified period of time from using alcohol and grape products, cutting his hair, and approaching corpses. At the end of the period he was required to immerse himself in water. Thus the ] of Jesus {{bibleverse|Matthew||3:13-15}} by his relative ] could have been done "to fulfil all righteousness" at the ending of a nazirite vow. However, following his baptism, the gospels give no reason to suppose Jesus took another Nazirite vow until ], (see {{bibleverse||Mark|14:25}}). {{bibleverse|Matthew||2:23}} says of Yeshua` (Jesus), "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." But had the prophets said 'Nazarene' or 'Nazarite'? It appears that they said ‘He shall be called a Nazarite’ because reference bibles state that the prophecy cited in Matt. 2:23 is in reference to {{bibleverse|Judges||13:5}} concerning Samson the Nazarite, and there is no word translated ‘Nazarene’ or any reference to a city of 'Nazareth' in the Hebrew Scriptures. {{bibleverse|Luke||1:15|49}} describes John the Baptist as a Nazarite from birth. ] was described as a Nazarite in ]' Panarion 29.4 . In {{bibleverse|Acts||21:23-26|49}} ] is advised to accompany four men having "a vow on them" (a Nazarite vow) to ] and to purify himself in order that it might appear that he "walkest orderly". This event was the reason why in {{bibleverse|Acts||24:5-18}} Paul was accused of being a "ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (and further verifies that the term Nazarene was connected to the term Nazarite). | |||
| *The word ''nosri'' which means "one who keeps (guard over)" or "one who observes" the same name used by spiritual leaders (see for example ]) of a pre-Christian gnostic sect which evolved into the ] religion (as in Jeremiah 31:5-6 נֹצְרִים). This explanation had become popular among Protestants towards the end of the 20th century. | |||
| *The word ''nazara'', "truth", another ] concept popularized through the ]: "The apostles that came before us called him Jesus Nazarene the Christ ..."Nazara" is the "Truth". Therefore 'Nazarenos' is "The One of the Truth" ..." (], 47) | |||
| ==Sect Affiliations== | |||
| Modern Jewish scholarship may confirm some basic facts pertaining to the sect. The Nazarenes (as well as ]) may have been ] in affiliation with ], in opposition to ] and its 18 Ordnances. Their leadership might have already become decimated by the mid-2nd century of the Common Era, and eradicated almost totally shortly after the ].<ref>http://www.chayas.com/state.doc Jewish position on Jesus' early Jewish followers</ref> | |||
| ==Patristic references to "Nazarenes"== | ==Patristic references to "Nazarenes"== | ||
| The Emperor Constantine is believed to have effectively coin the word "Christian" as it had become established as the standard term for the followers of Jesus in Hellenistic and Roman cultural circles (the ] cites ] as the place where followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time), there appear to have been one or more groups who continued or reverted to calling themselves by various names almost always rendered "Nazarene" in English. | |||
| ] (published ]), gave this description of the Nazarenes: | ] (published ]), gave this description of the Nazarenes: | ||
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| </ref> | </ref> | ||
| From Epiphanius' description, given in the Fourth Century when Nazarenes had already existed for several hundred years, it can be determined that the Nazarenes were very dependent upon the Jewish world and its traditions, and had a relatively "low" Christology in rejecting antinomianism, the Christian Trinity, and possibly the divinity of Jesus. | From Epiphanius' description, given in the Fourth Century when Nazarenes had already existed for several hundred years, it can be determined that the Nazarenes were very dependent upon the Jewish world and its traditions, and had a relatively "low" Christology in rejecting antinomianism, the Christian Trinity, and possibly the divinity of Jesus. Thus, many find it strange that Epiphanius' essentially admitted the the Nazarenes had practiced the original doctrine passed down by Jesus (Yeshua). | ||
| In the ] ] also refers to Nazarenes as those "...who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law." In his ''Epistle'' 79, to Augustine, he said: | In the ] ] also refers to Nazarenes as those "...who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law." In his ''Epistle'' 79, to Augustine, he said: | ||
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| ] apparently had some confusion as to the differences between Nazarenes and ], a different Jewish sect, and that the Nazarenes probably never positioned themselves as being Christians. His criticism of the Nazarenes is noticeably more direct and critical than that of ]. | ] apparently had some confusion as to the differences between Nazarenes and ], a different Jewish sect, and that the Nazarenes probably never positioned themselves as being Christians. His criticism of the Nazarenes is noticeably more direct and critical than that of ]. | ||
| Regarding their scriptures, ] (died 457) says: 'The Nazuraioi are Jews who honour Christ as a righteous man, and use the '']''" (''Haer. Fab.'' ii. c. 2). On the other hand ] (''Of illustrious men'' 3) writes that the Nazuraioi of Beroea (modern ]) in Syria gave him the opportunity to copy their Hebrew "Gospel of Matthew". He also writes (''Commentary on Matthew'' 12:13) "There is a Gospel, which the Nazuraioi and Ebionites use, which I lately translated from the Hebrew tongue into Greek and which is called by many the authentic Gospel of Matthew". | |||
| The Roman ] at the Council of Nicea (325 C.E.), declared a formal and complete break from all Jewish practices and interaction with Jews or ]. He may have especially been targeting the Nazarenes with this statement, who professed a very high continuity with Judaism and may have had a "low" Christology. | The Roman ] at the Council of Nicea (325 C.E.), declared a formal and complete break from all Jewish practices and interaction with Jews or ]. He may have especially been targeting the Nazarenes with this statement, who professed a very high continuity with Judaism and may have had a "low" Christology. | ||
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| ==Modern movements== | ==Modern movements== | ||
| Interestingly, there are many rapidly growing groups of people who are beginning to associate themselves as Nazarenes. Not to be confused with Messianic Judaism, Nazarenes advocate the adherence of the original doctrine taught by Jesus (Yeshua), and the rest of the apostles, which would have included Torah obedience and the rejection of the "traditions of elders". This has happened in continued response of the Hebrew Roots Movement that began in the 20th century. | |||
| Such organizations are developing around the world, holding fast to the Hebrew laws and customs, and to the belief in Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah. Most modern Nazarenes believe in what's known as the Two-House Doctrine, in which they believe Nazarenes represent the lost Ten Tribes of Israel that were exiled after the days of King Solomon, and seek to restore their identity Israelites through a central leadership. One such group is Nazarene Israel, which is based in the United States and attempts to unify Nazarenes worldwide. | |||
| Starting in the nineteenth century, a number of modern movements have revived the term "Nazarene", usually for one of two reasons: | |||
| #Since they suppose the word was used of very early followers of Jesus, adopting it lays claim to, or stresses the importance of, a more primitive or authentic structure of belief. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| The best known of these is the ], which emphasizes Christian activism in the ] tradition of ], and which is accepted as normative by other mainstream Christian denominations. Various branches of the ] also use the term "Nazarene" or "Nazarean" in their name. | |||
| == Notes == | == Notes == | ||
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| * | * | ||
| * | * | ||
| * | |||
| * in the 1911 ] | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 20:19, 25 March 2007
For other uses, see Nazarene (disambiguation).
The Nazarenes (Hebrew: Netzarim, נצרים) were a group of early followers of Jesus of Nazareth who, like the Ebionites, were noteworthy for refusing to follow Christianity in its complete break with Judaism. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
From Epiphanius' description, given in the Fourth Century when Nazarenes had already existed for several hundred years, it can be determined that the Nazarenes were very dependent upon the Jewish world and its traditions, and had a relatively "low" Christology in rejecting antinomianism, the Christian Trinity, and possibly the divinity of Jesus. Thus, many find it strange that Epiphanius' essentially admitted the the Nazarenes had practiced the original doctrine passed down by Jesus (Yeshua).
In the 4th century Jerome also refers to Nazarenes as those "...who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law." In his Epistle 79, to Augustine, he said:
- "What shall I say of the Ebionites who pretend to be Christians? To-day there still exists among the Jews in all the synagogues of the East a heresy which is called that of the Minæans, and which is still condemned by the Pharisees; are ordinarily called 'Nazarenes'; they believe that Christ, the son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, and they hold him to be the one who suffered under Pontius Pilate and ascended to heaven, and in whom we also believe. But while they pretend to be both Jews and Christians, they are neither."
Jerome apparently had some confusion as to the differences between Nazarenes and Ebionites, a different Jewish sect, and that the Nazarenes probably never positioned themselves as being Christians. His criticism of the Nazarenes is noticeably more direct and critical than that of Epiphanius.
The Roman Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicea (325 C.E.), declared a formal and complete break from all Jewish practices and interaction with Jews or Judaism. He may have especially been targeting the Nazarenes with this statement, who professed a very high continuity with Judaism and may have had a "low" Christology.
- "I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened breads & sacrifices of lambs of the Hebrews, and all other feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspersions, purifications, sanctifications and propitiations and fasts, and new moons, and Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants and observances and Synagogues, and the food and drink of the Hebrews; in one word, I renounce everything Jewish, every law, rite and custom and if afterwards I shall wish to deny and return to Jewish superstition, or shall be found eating with The Jews, or feasting with them, or secretly conversing and condemning the Christian religion instead of openly confuting them and condemning their vain faith, then let the trembling of Gehazi cleave to me, as well as the legal punishments to which I acknowledge myself liable. And may I be anathema in the world to come, and may my soul be set down with Satan and the devils."
The mere mention of the Nazarenes after the 4th Century appears very scarce, which points to the possibility that Constantine enforced his proclamation on pain of death.
Modern movements
Interestingly, there are many rapidly growing groups of people who are beginning to associate themselves as Nazarenes. Not to be confused with Messianic Judaism, Nazarenes advocate the adherence of the original doctrine taught by Jesus (Yeshua), and the rest of the apostles, which would have included Torah obedience and the rejection of the "traditions of elders". This has happened in continued response of the Hebrew Roots Movement that began in the 20th century.
Such organizations are developing around the world, holding fast to the Hebrew laws and customs, and to the belief in Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah. Most modern Nazarenes believe in what's known as the Two-House Doctrine, in which they believe Nazarenes represent the lost Ten Tribes of Israel that were exiled after the days of King Solomon, and seek to restore their identity Israelites through a central leadership. One such group is Nazarene Israel, which is based in the United States and attempts to unify Nazarenes worldwide.