Relocation to Nazareth Flashcards
Who replaces Herod after his death?
His son, Herod Archelaus, who is just as bloodthirsty?
What is Joseph warned to do in his third prophetic dream?
Not to return to Judea at all, but to go to Nazareth in Galilee instead
Why did Archelaus’ reign only last until 6 CE?
Sick of his cruelty, his Jewish subjects complained to the Roman Empire. Archelaus was deposed and sent into exile; his territory became the Roman province of Judea and a Roman governor was sent out to rule it directly
Who is the ‘Herod’ that has run ins with Jesus and executes JTB?
Herod Antipas
What was the religious reason for Matthew to locate Jesus to Galilee rather than Judea/
Because it was a region where Jews worked alongside the Gentiles. This echoes Matthew’s idea that Jesus has come just as much for the Gentiles as he did for the Jews
Why did Matthew ignore the idea that Jesus could have been born in Galilee?
The critereon of embarrassment was a major issue for 1st century Christians
What OT passage does Matthew refer to in his final proof text?
Isaiah 11:1
How does Matthew use the idea of word play to link the idea that Jesus was a Nazarene to Isaiah 11:1?
Because ‘Nazarene’ sounds alot like the hebrew word ‘ne-tzer’, meaning branch. This links back to Isaiah, who suggested the Messiah would be of the line of David, descended from David’s father, Jesse
State Isaiah 11:1
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit
Why is Matthew’s idea of word play less of a stretch than it first seems?
Because the prophecy about the Messiah being a branch of the Davidic family tree was very famous and so referring to Jesus as ne-tzer might have been recognised by Jewish readers as referring to the prophecy
Explain Brown’s arguement that Matthew uses the Nazarite sect to explain Jesus’ Nazarene status
The Nazirites were an old Jewish sect promised to the service of God while still in their mother’s wombs, so this reference reinforces the idea that Jesus was born to be the Messiah
