Matthew2:23

Translation

When he arrived there, he dwelled in the city called NAZARETH so that what the prophets said

would be fulfilled: “he will be called a NAZARENE.”

Paraphrase

When he arrived there, he settled in, and lived in the city called, THE HOLY SPROUT, and thus fulfilled what was said by the prophets:

“he will be known as THE HOLY SPROUT THAT BRINGS HOPE.”

Footnotes

1: “called a Nazarene”

There is no place in the Old Testament where such a thing is actually said. Therefore, many scholars think it is a reference to Isaiah 11:1 where we read, “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Thus it is not a quote, but the use of the term “sprout or shoot” that is in view here. Jesus was the sprout and he grew up in a town called the sprout. Jesus fulfilled the meaning of the name of the place where He grew up, thus it sounds like a prophecy fulfilled.

The concept of a sprout or shoot found in the Hebrew prophets conveyed a picture of a tree that had been cut down leaving behind only a stump. But then a shoot appeared providing hope that a new tree would again stand in that place. Thus a sprout or shoot was similar to the concept of a remnant, and was a symbol of hope, of restoration, of renewal. JESUS, the HOLY SPROUT, is our source of HOPE. Thus the story of the birth of Jesus ends with a word picture for Hope.