Jesus the Nazirite/Nazoraean, NOT Jesus of Nazareth! By Dr. Chapman Chen
- Chapman Chen
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Introduction: Matthew 2:23 claims that Jesus grew up in a town called Nazareth and “shall be called a Nazarene” in fulfilment of a prophecy in the OT. But Prof. Robert Eisenman (2012), one of the leading scholars of early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and René Salm (2008) argue that Nazareth as a town did not exist during Jesus’ time—it is not found on any known ancient maps or records from the 1st century AD. Excavated material from the area is generally dated to later periods, such as the 2nd century AD and beyond. The presence of rock-cut tombs in the area may even preclude residential habitation during Jesus’ time, because Jewish purity laws (Numbers 19:11–22) forbid living in proximity to graves and corpses. The true origins of the term may lie instead with the Nazirites of the OT and the early Christian sect known as the Nazoraeans (Eisenman 2012, p. 77-91).
1. Two Hebrew Roots of Nazarene
Eisenman contends that “Nazarene” stems from two Hebrew roots, namely, N-Z-R (נזר) —the root of "Nazirite" (nāzīr), meaning "to separate" or "to consecrate" or “to abstain from”; and N-TZ-R (נצר): the root of "Nazoraean" (linṣor), meaning "to guard" or "to keep." The two consonants, 'z' and 'tz', transliterate only into a single consonant 'z' in Greek as in Nazōraios (Nazarene) (Eisenman 2012, p. 87).
2. The Nazirite’s Ascetic Vows
Nazirites were individuals consecrated to God who took vows to abstain from contact with corpse defilement, wine, and hair-cutting (Numbers 6:1–21). The Nazirite vow’s avoidance of corpses may imply abstention from animal flesh, since meat is, by nature, dead body.
A well-known OT Nazirite is Samson. Just like Samson, who is twice said to be “a Nazirite from his mother’s womb” (Judges 13:5–7, 16:17), James the Just was said by Hegesipp to be “Holy [consecrated] from his mother’s womb. Similarly, the angel said to Mary, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb… that holy [consecrated] thing” (Luke 1:31, 35 KJV), who was Jesus (cf. Eisenman 2012, p. 87).
3. Jesus and the 12 Disciples as Nazirites
Indeed, as a staunch vegan, who desired compassion, rather than sacrifice (Matt. 9:13, 12:7), and who died for animal liberation (Akers 2000, pp. 113-134), Jesus was probably a Nazirite. All the twelve apostles of Jesus were also most likely Nazirites as they all abstained from animal flesh and wine (Eusebius, Proof of the Gospel 3.5; Church historian Hegesipp according to Eusebius, History of the Church II 2:3; Clementine Homilies; Acts of Thomas, Ch. 20; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, Ch. 1). In Acts 21, James supervises Paul in temple rituals involving Nazirite vows, confirming the continuation of Nazirite ideology within the Jerusalem Church left over by Jesus (Eisenman 2012, p.88).
4. Nazoraeans as Keepers of the Covenant/Mosaic Law
Concerning the Nazoraeans, Eisenman contends that they were "Keepers of the Covenant" (Shomrei ha-Brit) or "Nozrei ha-Brit", a phrase appearing both in Qumran scrolls and later Christian literature. Epiphanius of Salamis (4th century AD) describes them as: “Jews by nationality, who accept Jesus as the Messiah, but are still bound to the Law” (Panarion, Book 29). He explicitly distinguishes them from later Christians and affirms that they were the earliest followers of Jesus, before the name “Christian” came into use at Antioch. Jerome (late 4th–early 5th century AD) confirms the existence of the Nazoraeans (or Nazarenes) in his writings, especially in his commentary on Isaiah, where he mentions they observe the Law of Moses and believe in Christ.
Further, Paul was mistakenly accused of being “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazoraeans” (Acts 24:5), a historical reflection of this early community. (This accusation was definitely a misunderstanding for Paul was not truly a Nazoraean in the same sense as James, Peter, and the Jerusalem apostles, who practiced Torah observance and veganism. On the contrary, Paul preached against the Law, which would have been opposed by the Nazoraean community, as Robert Eisenman and others argue. So while he was associated with them by outsiders, he was doctrinally at odds with the original Nazoraean movement.)
According to scholarly consensus (e.g., Eisenman 2012, Tabor 2012, Akers 2000), the Nazoraeans were Jewish followers of Jesus who continued to observe the Torah; believers in Jesus as the Messiah, yet not followers of Pauline Christianity; possibly aligned with the vegan Ebionites, another Torah-observant Jewish-Christian group; strongly opposed to animal sacrifice and practicing veganism; seen by Church Fathers as heretical, yet probably the closest to the historical Jesus movement.
5. Conclusion
In a word, Jesus did not come from Nazareth as a geographical location. “Jesus the Nazarene” refers to Jesus as a spiritual leader, who, succeeding the consecrated Nazirites in the OT, launched the vegan Nazoraean movement against animal sacrifice and flesh-eating. #VeganChrist #VeganGod #VeganTheology #VeganTheology
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