ABSTRACT
Nazareth is mentioned only in the New Testament and is even then restricted to the four Gospels and the Book of Acts. Most of the 30 occurrences of the name serve to identify Jesus as having come from here (see for examples: Mark 1: 24; 10: 47; Matt. 26: 71; Luke 18: 37; 24: 19; John 18: 5, 7; Acts 2: 22; 3: 6; 4: 10; 6: 14). Luke specifically identifies Nazareth as the hometown of Mary and Joseph (2: 39) and other references claim that this is where Jesus grew up (Mark 1: 9; Matt. 4: 13; Luke 2: 51; 4: 16). The low status of this otherwise insignificant first-century CE Jewish village is also reflected in the Gospels ( John 1: 45ff.). Beyond the New Testament insistence that Jesus grew up there, the most important story relating him to the place is found in Luke, and only in Luke: Jesus returns to Nazareth, goes to a synagogue on the Sabbath and reads from the scroll of Isaiah, after which the people become enraged and try to kill him (Luke 4: 16-30).
