Nazirite, Nazorean & Nazarene

Originally posted on December 30, 2009 – by Andre Piet

Besides the earlier answering of three questions, there still remains the issue of the difference between Nazirite, Nazorean, and Nazarene.

Nazerite

A Nazirite is someone who is under a vow and may not drink wine or strong drink, and whose hair may not be cut or shaved. We find the legislation on this in Numbers 6. Judge Samson is the best-known biblical example of a Nazirite.
Nazirite may sound a bit like Nazarene/Nazorean, but the one has absolutely NOTHING to do with the other. Jesus was a Nazarene, but definitely not a Nazirite (Matt. 11:19).

Nazorean & Nazarene

As for the difference between a Nazorean and a Nazarene, I must hereby qualify an earlier claim. In last Sunday’s study I incorrectly stated that where the St.Vert. reads Nazarene, the NBG translation here always renders it Nazorean. For convenience I assumed that identical terms were involved here. On closer examination, however, there is a subtle difference, which only makes last Sunday’s exposition stronger. The NBG translation does in fact use the word Nazarene three times: Mark 14:66; 16:6; Luke 24:19. In that case it is the Greek word ‘nazarenos,’ which unmistakably points to an inhabitant of Nazareth. The other times, however, a distinct Greek word is used (‘nazareios’), and in order to honor this difference, the NBG has rendered this as ‘Nazorean.’ Are these synonymous terms, or is a (subtle) difference involved here?

In Matt. 2:23 we read

… and coming there, he settled in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets should be fulfilled, that He would be called a Nazorean.

It should be clear that the name Nazareth here is apparently connected with Nazorean. But why then does the word Nazarene not appear here? I will pass over the countless explanations that have been given for this,* but in light of what I argued earlier, the solution is perfectly self-evident: according to Isa. 11:1, a Nazorean is a shoot (netzer) from the offspring of Jesse (read: David). When Nazoreans settled in Galilee in the first century BC, their settlement was named after them: Nazareth. And its inhabitants were called Nazarenes.

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FOOTNOTE

• Read the informative Dutch article by J.C. Plooy, who goes into many ins and outs surrounding the term ‘Nazorean’ at length. The article has a rather theological slant—be forewarned.

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