Q
Matthew 2:23 says: “And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” I can’t find any OT prophet saying that. What was Matthew talking about?
A
One of the Hebrew words for branch is netzer. It’s used in Isaiah 11:1 in reference to the Messiah and is derived from the root word natzar. The Greek word translated Nazareth is Nazara. Some scholars believe nazara is the Greek form of natzar and is Matthew’s justification for saying that calling Jesus a Nazarene was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. It sounds pretty far-fetched to us but I’m told it makes a lot more sense in the original languages.