The Historicity of Nazareth (Jesus, priests, gospel, virtual, America)

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Robtex

Also I have heard claims that the city of Nazareth came into being in 100-150 ad. Anybody have verification on when Nazareth became a town?

According to the holylandnetwork Nazareth is not mentioned in the 45 towns of Galilee nor is spoken of in the Talmud during the time Jesus is speculated to have lived during.
http://www.holylandnetwork.com/nazareth/nazareth.htm

Interesting... I will use this thread to compile some research.

Selah Merrill writes "Its origin is not known, both sacred and profane annals are silent respecting it..." pg 5.

Nazareth the Home of Jesus
Selah Merrill
The Biblical World > Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan., 1898), pp. 5-16
Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=019...3E2.0.CO%3B2-J
NOTE: This article contains high-quality images.
Article Information | Page of First Match | Print | Download | Save Citation

[angellous_evangellous]

Writing in 2002, Leo Depuydt does not mention the supposed late date of the founding of Nazareth...

The Date of Death of Jesus of Nazareth
Leo Depuydt
Journal of the American Oriental Society > Vol. 122, No. 3 (Jul., 2002), pp. 466-480
Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=000...3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y
Article Information | Page of First Match | Print | Download | Save Citation

[angellous_evangellous]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazaret...nd_archaeology

Richard Carrier further comments: "See: 'Nazareth,' Avraham Negev & Shimon Gibson, eds., Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, new ed. (2001); and B. Bagatti, Excavations in Nazareth, vol. 1 (1969), esp. pp. 233-34, which discusses four calcite column bases, which were reused in a later structure, but are themselves dated before the War by their stylistic similarity to synagogues and Roman structures throughout 1st century Judaea, and by the fact that they contain Nabataean lettering (which suggests construction before Jewish priests migrated to Nazareth after the war), as well as their cheap material (cancite instead of marble); pp. 170-71 discusses Aramaic-inscribed marble fragments paleographically dated around the end of the 1st century or early 2nd century, demonstrating that Nazareth had marble structures near the time the Gospels were written (even if not before)."[1]

[michel]

http://virtualreligion.net/iho/nazareth.html
Hometown of Jesus according to the Gospels (Mark 1:9; Matt 2:23, 21:11; Luke 1:26, 2:4; John 1:45-46), situated about 20 miles east of the Mediterranean & 15 miles west of Lake Gennesareth, less than 5 miles west of Mt. Tabor, the highest point in southern Galilee. Built on the southeastern slope of a ridge at 1300 feet above sea level, with a commanding view of the broad valley of Jezre'el to the south, Nazareth probably gained its Hebrew name as a lookout or "watchtower" for the defense of Galilee [from natzar: "to watch" or "to guard"].

Tombs & agricultural evidence (silos, cisterns, olive & wine presses) provide concrete evidence that the site was inhabited from the early days of Israelite occupation of the land [12th c. BCE]. But the ancient settlement was never large, since it had only one spring. The 1st c. village, whose population was less than 500, was overshadowed by the fortified town of Japha just one mile south---described by Josephus as the "largest village in Galilee" (Vita 230)---and the city of Sepphoris, just 3.5 miles to the northwest.
Nazareth itself was not a site of historic or major strategic importance &, thus, did not merit notice in any ancient text apart from the gospel references to it as the place of Jesus' origin. The earliest non-Christian reference is an inscription discovered in the synagogue of Caesarea Maritima that names Nazareth as one of the places in Galilee where the priestly families of Judea migrated after the Hadrianic war [135 CE]. But Nazareth remained a small Jewish village until the 4th c. CE when Constantine constructed a church that became a center for Christian pilgrimages. It was elevated to the status of city in the 7th c. CE. Since the 17th c. the Franciscans have developed it into the largest Christian center in the land of Israel.
For further recent information about archaeological & historical evidence, see:

• Rousseau, John J. & Rami Arav. Jesus & His World. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995) pp. 248-251.
• Horsley, Richard A. Archaeology, History & Society in Galilee. (Valley Forge PA: Trinity Press International, 1996) pp. 107-112.
• Excavation Results. Well illustrated report of Bellarmino Bagatti's 1955 excavations related to reconstruction of the Franciscan church of the Annunciation.
• Nazareth Village Farm. Report of excavations by Center for Study of Early Christianity.

[angellous_evangellous]

I believe that I have Horsley, Richard A. Archaeology, History & Society in Galilee. (Valley Forge PA: Trinity Press International, 1996) pp. 107-112. at home...

[Buttercup]

AE you have to use those pesky account numbers again....anyway to bypass those?

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Buttercup

AE you have to use those pesky account numbers again....anyway to bypass those?

Sorry, sometimes it's the best thing that I can do. If you have access to a library, the full texts of the articles are available in JSTOR. It only takes a second to copy and paste the title into the search engine and viola!