Metaphysical meaning of Nazareth (mbd)
Nazareth, naz'-a-reth (Gk. fr. Heb.) --branch; offshoot; sprout; verdant; shining; splendid; observed, i. e., as a covenant; watched; guarded; defended; preserved. Nazareth should not be confused with Nazirite, since in the Hebrew the two names are quite different.
A town of Galilee; the boyhood home of Jesus (Matt. 2:23).
Meta. The meaning of Nazareth is branch, offshoot, sprout, verdant, shining, watched, guarded. A synagogue is a place of worship, and the Sabbath is a state of rest. Luke 4:16 runs, "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read." This means that, when we begin to awaken to the truth that we are sons of God, branches of the one true vine, when we take the attitude of worship, of watching, of centering the mind's eye on the Christ Truth, and rest in that consciousness, we are receptive to the inspiration of Spirit.
Nazareth was a despised place (the things of the Spirit of God are considered foolish by the natural man; see I Cor. 2:14), and as such would be a type of inferiority. It was considered a community of commonplace, if not disreputable, people. "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Yet in this commonplace village Jesus was reared; and in the seemingly mediocre mind the Christ Truth is received and expressed. Nazareth typifies the commonplace mind of man, but it is a place of development, through which the Christ comes into expression.
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Preceding Entry: Nazarene
Following Entry: Nazirite
