[post #8] ... Also I came across an argument saying that the town of Nazareth did actually exist until it was created by the New Testament. I think the argument was that there was misinterpretation or misspelling of an Old Testament prophecy so they had to Jesus of Nazareth even though there is no evidence of such a place before the New Testament. Just wondering if you had heard anything about that?

 

The author of Matt 2:23 states that in fulfillment of prophecy '"He will be called a Nazarene". It is generally thought that the author was referring to Is 11:1, where the Messiah is called a "netser", or shoot, out of the root of Jesse. The name for the town of Nazareth may have been derived from the same word. The author of Matthew saw a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in Jesus' parents taking up residency there.

 

The region had been settled by Jews since ancient times and had remained a bastion of Judaism down through the centuries. Archeological excavations conducted beneath the Church of the Annunciation have revealed that ancient Nazareth was an agricultural village. Pottery was found there dating from Iron Age II (approx 900-600 B.C.).