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The Wise Men - Appendix 2 |
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As indicated in Appendix 1 there appears to be a cryptic (hidden) reference in the quotation from Jeremiah there considered, to heaven (the heights) under the place name Ramah, and to Bethlehem under the name Rachel. In the above statement there similarly appears to be such a reference under the place name Nazareth. Nazareth means Branch because it contains the word 'Netzer' which is a Hebrew word used for branch. This is almost certainly so because the word Nazaraean does not appear in the Old Testament. It will be noticed that in the Matthew passage we are considering the plural prophets is used rather than the singular prophet. Unless this is taken to just mean that the expression Nazaraean is found somewhere in the prophets it would appear to indicate that the expression Nazaraean is found in more than one of the prophets. This I think is what Matthew meant for the reasons given below. |
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There are a number of references to a branch in the prophets as follows:- |
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(1) Isaiah 11:1 "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful". |
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(2) Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and act wisely, and shall execute judgement and righteousness in the land." |
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(3) Jeremiah 33:15 " In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgement and righteousness in the land." |
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A perusal of the quotations above will show that they all refer to Christ. This will be even more evident if the context in which the statements appear is considered. Further, the passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah are clearly connected with Christ as the Son of David. There are also references to growth which would connect with Christ's years at Nazareth where he was brought up (Luke 4:16). Then the last quotation speaks of his name being the Branch which would connect with the statement in Matthew that he shall be called a Nazaraean. Although not quoted above the reference to a sprout in Isaiah 4:2 is also almost certainly another reference to Christ as the Branch. It is only in Isaiah 11:1 quoted above that the actual word Netzer is used for branch; the other quotations have 'Tsemach' meaning literally 'sprout'. However, this (Tsemach) is effectively a synonym for Netzer and is translated as branch by JNDarby except in Isaiah 4:2 and the difference in the Hebrew word used is covered in his notes. |
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