Nazareth

Nazareth, historic city of Lower Galilee, in northern Israel; it is the largest Arab city of the country. In the New Testament Nazareth is associated with Jesus as his boyhood home, and in its synagogue he preached the sermon that led to his rejection by his fellow townsmen. The city is now a centre of Christian pilgrimage.

The etymology of the city’s name is uncertain; it is not mentioned in the Old Testament or rabbinic literature; the first reference is in the New Testament (John 1). The contempt in which this then insignificant village was held is expressed in the same chapter (“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”). From there, Jesus went to perform his first miracle, that of the changing of water to wine at Cana (John 2). Nazareth had a Jewish population in Jesus’ time; its Christian holy places are first mentioned after Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire (313 ce). The only site in Nazareth that can be definitely identified as dating back to New Testament times is the town well, now called St. Mary’s Well; others are in dispute between the various churches.

During the Crusades, Nazareth was fought over bitterly; when the Norman-Sicilian crusader Tancred captured Galilee (1099), he set himself up as prince of Galilee, with his capital at Nazareth. After the crusaders’ final expulsion from Palestine (1291), Christian influence waned, and when the Ottoman Turks took Palestine (early 16th century), they expelled all Christians from the city. Only under Fakhr ad-Dīn II, emir of Lebanon (reigned 1590–1635), were Christians permitted to return to Nazareth; Christian Arabs now form about a third of the population.

Nazareth’s chief attractions are its many churches. Of these, the Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation (completed 1966, on the site of a previous church of 1730 and a crusader foundation) is perhaps the best known. In it is the Grotto of the Annunciation, where, according to the New Testament, the archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced that she was to be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26–31). The grotto has part of a mosaic floor dating back to the 5th–6th century. The Church of the Annunciation is the largest Christian house of worship in the Middle East. Other important churches include Gabriel’s Church, held by Greek Catholics to be the site of the Annunciation; the Synagogue-Church, on the traditional site of the synagogue where Jesus preached (Luke 4); the Church of Joseph, on the reputed site of Joseph’s carpentry shop; the Mensa Christi (“Table of Christ”) Church, where tradition holds that Jesus dined with the Apostles after his Resurrection; and the Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent, on a hill overlooking the city. Several of the churches have attached museums with holy relics.

Modern Nazareth is a regional market and trade centre for the Arabs of Galilee; tourism and light manufacturing are also important. Many workers commute to industrial jobs in the Haifa Bay area and to agricultural and construction work in the Jewish settlements of the Plain of Esdraelon.

Beginning in 1957, the Jewish suburb called Naẕerat ʿIllit (“Upper Naẕareth”) was built on the hills to the east of the city. It has auto-assembly, food-processing, and textile plants; some of Nazareth’s Arabs work there. It also is the administrative seat of Israel’s Northern district. Pop. (2010 est.) 73,000.