 3 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Nazarene
adjective
1: of or relating to the Nazarenes or their religion
2: of or relating to the town of Nazareth or its inhabitants
noun
1: a member of a group of Jews who (during the early history of
the Christian Church) accepted Jesus as the Messiah;
they accepted the Gospel According to Matthew but
rejected St. Paul and continued to follow Jewish law and
celebrate Jewish holidays; they were later declared
heretic by the Church of Rome [syn: {Ebionite}]
2: an early name for any Christian
3: an inhabitant of Nazareth
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nazarene \Naz'a*rene"\, prop. n. [L. Nazarenus, Gr. ?, fr. ?
Nazareth.]
1. A native or inhabitant of Nazareth; -- a term of contempt
applied to Christ and the early Christians.
2. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of Judaizing Christians in the
first and second centuries, who observed the laws of
Moses, and held to certain heresies.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Nazarene
This epithet (Gr. Nazaraios) is applied to Christ only once
(Matt. 2:23). In all other cases the word is rendered "of
Nazareth" (Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67, etc.). When this Greek
designation was at first applied to our Lord, it was meant
simply to denote the place of his residence. In course of time
the word became a term of reproach. Thus the word "Nazarene"
carries with it an allusion to those prophecies which speak of
Christ as "despised of men" (Isa. 53:3). Some, however, think
that in this name there is an allusion to the Hebrew _netser_,
which signifies a branch or sprout. It is so applied to the
Messiah (Isa. 11:1), i.e., he whom the prophets called the
_Netse_, the "Branch."
The followers of Christ were called "the sect of Nazarenes"
(Acts 24:5). All over Palestine and Syria this name is still
given to Christians. (See {NAZARETH}.)
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