He Shall Be Called a Nazarene (Revisited)

The Biblical Puzzle

Matthew 2:23 says that Jesus "came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'" This verse raises an important question for Bible students: Where in the Old Testament does it say the Messiah would be called a Nazarene?

Many Christians have searched the Old Testament looking for this prophecy without success. If you've tried to find it yourself, you're not alone! This apparent gap has led some to question the reliability of Matthew's Gospel.

The Simple Solution

The answer is straightforward: Matthew is not quoting a single Old Testament verse. Instead, he's summarizing the collective message of several prophecies that are fulfilled in Jesus' life circumstances.

Here's the key insight: When Matthew says this fulfills what was spoken "through the prophets" (plural), he's intentionally using different language than when he quotes a specific prophet or a single Old Testament passage.

Understanding Matthew's Quotation Pattern

Matthew uses very specific language when citing Scripture:

When quoting a single prophet, he writes "through the prophet" (singular) and directly quotes a passage.
When summarizing multiple prophetic themes, he writes "through the prophets" (plural) and provides a summary statement.

In Matthew 2 alone, we see three specific Old Testament quotations:

Micah 5:2 (in Matthew 2:5-6) - About Bethlehem
Hosea 11:1 (in Matthew 2:14-15) - About coming out of Egypt
Jeremiah 31:15 (in Matthew 2:17-18) - About weeping in Ramah

Each of these prophecies mentions a different geographical location that figured into Jesus' early life. Matthew then concludes by noting that Jesus ultimately settled in Nazareth, becoming known as "a Nazarene" - fulfilling the broader prophetic pattern about the Messiah's origins.

An Important Translation Note

Some Bible translations place quotation marks around "He shall be called a Nazarene" in Matthew 2:23, suggesting it's a direct quotation. However, the original Greek has no quotation marks (they didn't exist in ancient Greek). Translations like the KJV and CSB render this passage without quotation marks, which better reflects Matthew's intent:

"Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that He will be called a Nazarene." (Matthew 2:23, CSB)

What Matthew Is Really Saying

Matthew is showing us how God sovereignly orchestrated Jesus' early life to fulfill multiple prophecies that initially seemed contradictory:

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
The Messiah would come out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1)
There would be weeping in Ramah (Jeremiah 31:15)

These geographical references appeared incompatible until Jesus' life unfolded exactly as described in Matthew 2. His family's divinely guided movements allowed Jesus to fulfill all these prophecies and ultimately settle in Nazareth, becoming known as "a Nazarene."

In other words, Matthew is not saying that there was a verse in the Old Testament that said, “the Messiah will be called a Nazarene.” Instead, Matthew is indicating that the fact that the Christ came to be called a Nazarene was how the Messiah fulfilled and brought together the seemingly irreconcilable geographical fulfillments from Micah 5:2, Hosea 11:1, and Jeremiah 31:15.

Conclusion

When we pay careful attention to Matthew's language, we see that Matthew 2:23 isn't pointing to a missing Old Testament verse. Rather, it's showing how Jesus' life circumstances—specifically settling in Nazareth and being called a Nazarene—represents the culmination of multiple prophetic themes. This careful biblical detective work helps us appreciate the remarkable way God orchestrated the details of Jesus' life to fulfill Scripture.