{"id":83,"date":"2020-04-07T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T07:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerusalemseminary.org\/blogs\/?p=83"},"modified":"2020-09-06T08:10:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-06T05:10:21","slug":"the-branch-of-david","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerusalemseminary.org\/blogs\/2020\/04\/07\/the-branch-of-david\/","title":{"rendered":"The Branch of David"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Branch of David<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In Matthew 2:23<\/span> we learn that Jesus\u2019 family settled in the small town of Nazareth \u201cin order that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene.\u201d This prophecy, however, appears nowhere in the Hebrew Bible. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Matthew guilty of inventing a messianic text? Absolutely not \u2013 he is simply employing a Jewish hermeneutical technique called \u201cmidrash.\u201d The key to interpreting this statement lies in recognizing a wordplay between \u201cNazareth\u201d \u039d\u03b1\u03b6\u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03c4 (Nazaret) and \u201cNazarene\u201d \u039d\u03b1\u03b6\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03c2 (Nazoraios). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wordplay is based on Isaiah 11:1<\/span> and the Hebrew word \u05e0\u05e6\u05e8 (netzer) meaning, \u201cbranch\u201d or \u201cshoot.\u201d The word occurs only here but its messianic significance is well attested to in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 4Q161, the pesher<\/em> commentary on Isaiah 11: 1-5<\/span> we encounter a reference to the Davidic branch whom God will raise up in the last days to deliver the faithful and rule over the nations: \u201c[Interpreted, this concerns the Branch] of David who shall arise at the end [of days] \u2026\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what does \u201cNazareth\u201d or \u201cNazarene\u201d have to do with \u05e0\u05e6\u05e8 (netzer)?  Although the name seems so familiar to us, \u201cNazareth\u201d should actually be spelled \u201cNatzeret.\u201d The English spelling is a transliteration of the Greek word \u039d\u03b1\u03b6\u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03c4 (Nazaret), which is itself a transliteration of the Hebrew word \u05e0\u05e6\u05e8\u05ea (Natzeret). The Greek alphabet does not have a letter which corresponds to the Hebrew \u05e6 (Tzade) and uses the Greek letter \u03b6 (Zeta) or \u201cz,\u201d instead.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This small detail has resulted in centuries of confusion about the town\u2019s name as well as Matthew\u2019s prophecy!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the exile, descendants from the House of David established the town and named it Natzeret to assert that God had preserved the royal line of Messiah \u2013 \u201cThe Branch.\u201d Matthew picks up on this fact and confirms that Jesus is the Netzer of Isaiah 11:1<\/span>, the Messianic Branch of David.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t