Nazareth in Wikipedia

Nazareth (pronounced /ˈnæzərəθ/; Hebrew: נָצְרַת‎, Natzrat or Natzeret; Arabic: الناصرة‎ al-Nāṣira or al-Naseriyye) is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is predominantly made up of Arab citizens of Israel.[2][3] In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events. The name "Nazareth" may derive from the Hebrew verb na·tsar, נָצַר, meaning "watch, guard, keep." Etymology. Nazareth is not mentioned in pre-Christian texts and appears in many different Greek forms in the New Testament. There is no consensus regarding the origin of the name. It must be noted that, in their scriptures, the Mandeans mention nasirutha as a place they go Biblical references. "Nazareth" assumes several forms (Nazara, Nazaret, Nazareth, Nazarat, Nazarath) in surviving Greek versions of the New Testament. Many scholars have questioned a link between "Nazareth" and the terms "Nazarene" and "Nazoraean" on linguistic grounds,[6] while some affirm the possibility of etymological relation "given the idiosyncrasies of Galilean Aramaic."[7] Of the twelve appearances of the town's name in the New Testament, ten use the form Nazaret or Nazareth, and two use the form Nazara.[4] Nazara (Ναζαρα) is generally considered the earliest form of the name in Greek, and is found in Matthew 4:13 and Luke 4:16, as well as the putative Q document, which many scholars maintain preceded 70 CE and the formation of the canonical Christian gospels.[4][8] The form Nazareth appears once in the Gospel of Matthew 21:11, four times in the birth chapters of the Gospel of Luke at 1:26; 2:4, 2:39, 2:51, and once in the Acts of the Apostles at 10:38. In the Gospel of Mark, the name appears only once in 1:9 in the form Nazaret.