Matthew 2:23 "spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

A Bible mocker at a Christian forum writes: “With your infallible Bible could you please tell me who these prophets were and list chapters and verses so I can mark the references? Matthew 2:23 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.”

Like many mockers and Bible agnostics (he doesn’t know for sure what God said and he has NO inerrant Bible in any language to believe in) he scoffs at things he does not understand and is not really looking for answers as much as he delights in pointing out what he thinks are insurmountable errors of difficulties he thinks he has found in the Bible.

This is not just an issue with the King James Bible - which they all love to criticize - but with ALL Bibles. They all say the same thing in Matthew 2:23.

Then  another guy who seems to think he is some kind of "expert" with deep insights that no other Bible translator in the world has ever seen, tells us that not only the King James Bible, but ALL Bibles are at fault and he gives us what he thinks is the true explanation.

He writes the following: "Here's one for all "translations" to worry about then. There is a GLARING error in the KJV in Matthew 2:23 because the KJV translators didn't know the difference between a branch and a nazarene.

Matthew 2:23 says about Jesus, “He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

Where is this prophecy in the Old Testament? And by prophet(s) - plural?

Go ahead, try to find it - uh them. I'll give you a year, but you won't find them. It must be there in the OT if KJO people are correct in their word for word perfection. Couldn't possibly be a translation issue now could it? Search for a day, week or decade, it AIN'T there.

NOWHERE, NOT ONCE, was it prophesied in the OT that Jesus would be called a nazarene.

Doesn't scripture record that "Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to Him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile."?? But this same Nathaniel said in John 1:46, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

Wouldn't Jesus have said "believe the prophets" to Nathaniel instead of calling him an Israelite with no guile? Especially if it were prophesied that Jesus would be called a nazarene by MULTIPLE prophets as Matthew purportedly said and Nathaniel didn't know it?

But it was NOT prophesied that Jesus would be called a "nazarene". Nowhere in the old testament.

But it was prophesied that Jesus would be called the "Branch" over and over in the prophet(s).

What Matthew originally wrote in 2:23 was "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the PROPHETS, He shall be called the Branch." (netser).

Hebrew was written with only consonants, and netser - Branch - would have appeared as NZR—the same main consonants as Nazareth.

The Hebrew word netser (“branch or sprout”) was a common term for the Messiah in both Zechariah and Isaiah in the Hebrew scriptures.

"In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious" (Is 4:2). “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Is 11:1). “ Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness...(Jer 23:5). In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land." (Jer 33:15). "Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign; for behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH." (Zech 3:8)

One was prophesied by SEVERAL prophets(s) - the branch.

The other one was prophesied by NO prophet(s) - Nazarene.

But translators translated the word "netser" as "nazarene" instead of "branch", and that's what's in our Bibles. And if you don't like that, then you must produce the prophets that proclaimed that the messiah would be called a nazarene. You have no choice, that's what's in Matthew.

If it's "word for word" perfect, then you must produce the prophets that proclaimed the messiah would be called a nazarene, which, of course, you cannot do." (end of this self-appointed authority's  comments)

First of all, translators are NOT translating the Hebrew word "netser" as Nazarene (as this Bible corrector claims).  They are translating the Greek word "Ναζωραῖος" (Nazoraios), which ONLY means Nazarene.  It is found again in Acts 24:5 where we see the term again used in a derogatory way when the Jews who are trying to kill Paul say of him: "For we have found this man a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of THE SECT OF THE NAZARENES."

And there IS a very reasonable way to explain this verse, but since this man has probably been given over to a reprobate mind, he will most likely reject the common sense explanation.  But we can offer the explanation for those who are willing to believe that God knew what he was talking about and the Bible (especially the King James Bible) IS the infallible and 100% true words of God.

First, it should be pointed out that there is no specific prophet mentioned here, as there are in many other Scriptural references.  So, what is Matthew referring to when he says "might be fulfilled which was spoken by the PROPHETS" when he is writing his gospel account under the inspiration of God?

I think it is actually pretty easy to explain.  

The Explanation.

“A Nazarene” was a well known term of contempt.  Those living in this region were in close contact with the vile Gentiles referred to as dogs. 

We see this in places like John 1:46. “And Nathanael said unto him (Philip), Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.”

And in John 7:52 - “They (the Pharisees) answered and said unto him (Nicodemus), Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.”

And Luke 4:16 to 30 describe the reaction of those in the hometown of Nazareth reacted to the Lord Jesus when he began his public ministry.  Jesus goes into the synagogue and reads a section of Scripture from the book of Isaiah, and then tells the people “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

And what was the reaction of the people from Nazareth?  Jesus said that “No prophet is accepted in his own country.” (Luke 4:24).

“And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.  But he passing through the midst of them went his way.

Even later in the book of Acts we see this association of Nazareth (the town where Jesus was brought up) as a term of contempt that was used against the apostle Paul, when the Jews are seeking his death before the governor Felix.

“For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5)

What we see is that to be called a Nazarene was a term of contempt, and this is what we see foretold by several Old Testament prophets concerning their promised Messiah.

“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.  All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake their head”  (Psalms 22:6-7)

“I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.”  (Psalms 69:11)

“Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.”  (Psalms 69:19)

“Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers…” (Isaiah 49:7)

“and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him: he is despised, and we esteemed him not.”  (Isaiah 53:2-3)

This understanding of what the verse means when it says “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” is nothing new or unique.

Several Bible commentators have offered this same explanation.

Matthew Henry - “As a name of reproach and contempt. To be called a Nazarene, was to be called a despicable man, a man from whom no good was to be expected, and to whom no respect was to be paid. The devil first fastened this name upon Christ, to render him mean, and prejudice people against him, and it stuck as a nickname to him and his followers. Now this was not particularly foretold by any one prophet, but, in general, it was spoken by the prophets, that he should be despised and rejected of men (Isa. 53:2, 3), a Worm, and no man (Ps. 22:6, 7), that he should be an Alien to his brethren Ps. 69:7, 8. Let no name of reproach for religion's sake seem hard to us, when our Master was himself called a Nazarene.”

John Lightfoot’s Bible Commentary - “Matthew may be understood concerning the outward, humble, and mean condition of our Saviour. And that by the word, Nazarene, he hints his separation and estrangement from other men, as a despicable person, and unworthy of the society of men.”

“Therefore, by the signification of an angel, he is sent away into Galilee, a very contemptible country, and into the city Nazareth, a place of no account: whence, from this very place, and the name of it, you may observe that fulfilled to a tittle which is so often declared by the prophets, that the Messias should be Nazor, a stranger, or separate from men, as if he were a very vile person, and not worthy of their company.”

B. W. Johnson’s Bible Commentary - “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. Not by one prophet, but the summing up of a number of prophecies. No prophet had declared in express terms that he should be called a Nazarene. They, however, did apply to Christ the term Nezer, from which Nazareth is derived… the meanness and contempt in which Nazareth was held was itself a prophecy of one who "was despised and rejected." 

Jamieson, Faussett and Brown - “The little town of Nazareth, mentioned neither in the Old Testament nor in JOSEPHUS, was probably so called from its insignificance: a weak twig in contrast to a stately tree; and a special contempt seemed to rest upon it--"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46) --over and above the general contempt in which all Galilee was held, from the number of Gentiles that settled in the upper territories of it, and, in the estimation of the Jews, debased it. Thus, in the providential arrangement by which our Lord was brought up at the insignificant and opprobrious town called Nazareth, there was involved, first, a local humiliation; next, an allusion to Isaiah's prediction of His lowly, twig-like upspringing from the branchless, dried-up stump of Jesse; and yet further, a standing memorial of that humiliation which "the prophets," in a number of the most striking predictions, had attached to the Messiah.”

McGarvey and Pendleton Bible Commentary - “That he should be called a Nazarene. The Hebrew word "netzer" means "branch" or "sprout". It is used figuratively for that which is lowly or despised  (Isaiah 17:9; Ezekiel 15:1-6; Malachi 4:1). Now, Nazareth, if derived from "netzer", answered to its name, and was a despised place  (John 1:45-46),  and Jesus, though in truth a Bethlehemite, bore the name Nazarene because it fitly expressed the contempt of those who despised and rejected him.”

Albert Barnes Notes on the Whole Bible - “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken … - The words here are not found in any of the books of the Old Testament, and there has been much difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of this passage. Some have supposed that Matthew meant to refer to Judges 13:5, to Samson as a type of Christ; others that he refers to Isaiah 11:1, where the descendant of Jesse is called “a Branch;” in the Hebrew נצר NêtzerSome have supposed that he refers to some prophecy which was not recorded, but handed down by tradition. But these suppositions are not satisfactory. 

It is much more probable that Matthew refers not to any particular place, but to the leading characteristics of the prophecies respecting him. The following remarks may make this clear:

1. He does not say “by the prophet,” as in Matthew 1:22; Matthew 2:5, Matthew 2:15, but “by the prophets,” meaning no one particularly, but the general character of the prophecies.

2. The leading and most prominent prophecies respecting him were, that he was to be of humble life; to be despised and rejected. See Isaiah 53:2-3, Isaiah 53:7-9, Isaiah 53:12; John 1:46; John 7:52. To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, or to be esteemed of low birth; to be a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness. This was what had been predicted by all the prophets. When Matthew says, therefore, that the prophecies were “fulfilled,” his meaning is, that the predictions of the prophets that he would be of a low and despised condition, and would be rejected, were fully accomplished in his being an inhabitant of Nazareth, and despised as such.”

John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes - “He came and dwelt in Nazareth - (where he had dwelt before he went to Bethlehem) a place contemptible to a proverb. So that hereby was fulfilled what has been spoken in effect by several of the prophets, (though by none of them in express words,) He shall be called a Nazarene - that is, he shall be despised and rejected, shall be a mark of public contempt and reproach.”

Vincent’s Word Studies - “The prophets - Note the plural, as indicating not any one prediction in particular, but a summary of the import of several prophetic statements, such as Psalm 22:6, Psalm 22:8; Psalm 69:11, Psalm 69:19; Isaiah 53:2, Isaiah 53:3, Isaiah 53:4.

A Nazarene

A term of contempt (compare John 1:46, and John 7:52). The very name of Nazareth suggested insignificance. In Hebrew it meant sprout or shoot. The name is prophetically given to the Messiah (Isaiah 11:1). …As David sprang from the humble family of Jesse, so the Messiah, the second David, shall arise out of great humiliation. The fact that Jesus grew up at Nazareth was sufficient reason for his being despised. He was not a lofty branch on the summit of a stately tree; not a recognized and honored son of the royal house of David, now fallen, but an insignificant sprout from the roots of Jesse; a Nazarene, of an upstart sprout-town.”

The People’s New Testament Bible Commentary - “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. Not by one prophet, but the summing up of a number of prophecies. No prophet had declared in express terms that he should be called a Nazarene. They, however, did apply to Christ the term {Nezer,} from which Nazareth is derived;  the meanness and contempt in which Nazareth was held was itself a prophecy of one who "was despised and rejected." See Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12.”

The King James Bible is right, as always, and this Bible Mocker is wrong, as they always are.