Nazarene : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: Nazarene	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for Nazarene
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
Nazarene adj of or relating to the Nazarenes or their religion of or relating to the town of Nazareth or its inhabitants n a member of a group of Jews who (during the early history of the Christian Church) accepted Jesus as the Messiah; they accepted the Gospel According to Matthew but rejected the Epistles of St. Paul and continued to follow Jewish law and celebrate Jewish holidays; they were later declared heretic by the Church of Rome Synonym(s): Nazarene, Ebionite an early name for any Christian an inhabitant of Nazareth
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Nazarene \Naz`a*rene"\, n. [L. Nazarenus, Gr. [?], fr. [?] Nazareth.] 1. A native or inhabitant of Nazareth; -- a term of contempt applied to Christ and the early Christians. 2. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of Judaizing Christians in the first and second centuries, who observed the laws of Moses, and held to certain heresies.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Nazarene This epithet (Gr. Nazaraios) is applied to Christ only once (Matt. 2:23). In all other cases the word is rendered "of Nazareth" (Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67, etc.). When this Greek designation was at first applied to our Lord, it was meant simply to denote the place of his residence. In course of time the word became a term of reproach. Thus the word "Nazarene" carries with it an allusion to those prophecies which speak of Christ as "despised of men" (Isa. 53:3). Some, however, think that in this name there is an allusion to the Hebrew _netser_, which signifies a branch or sprout. It is so applied to the Messiah (Isa. 11:1), i.e., he whom the prophets called the _Netse_, the "Branch." The followers of Christ were called "the sect of Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5). All over Palestine and Syria this name is still given to Christians. (See {NAZARETH}.)