Nazareth

The origin of the name ‘Nazareth’ is from the Jewish ‘Natzer’ which means a branch, to signify the branch or root of Jesse, which is mentioned in Isaiah’s prophecy, referring to Jesus as a descendant of Jesse. That is why we do the Jesse tree, and list the genealogical ancestors of Jesus. Nazareth was not well-known at the time of Jesus, situated between Egypt and Mesopotamia near the Mediterranean Sea. Back then it had a population of 1,500, and is not even mentioned in the Old Testament at all. Today Nazareth is the capital of the Arab world as it is the largest city in the north of Israel. At the moment the population is about 78,000, one third of which are Christians, and two-thirds are Muslims. It is a much-visited city as the place here Jesus lived with his parents. In it there is also the church of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce to her that she was chosen to be the Mother of God. The present church was built after the first one was demolished in 356 AD.