Sunday, August 17, 2014

Nazirite vs Nazarene

I am regurgitating a well-known offensive question Jews place on Christians. It is not offensive as in vulgar-offensive, but offensive as in a (American) football player playing offensive positions. This offensive is even documented in Wikipedia about the town of Nazareth.

OK, you cute bumbling KJV lovers, let me quote Numbers 6 in the KJV:
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate [themselves] to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate [themselves] unto the LORD …

In the Hebrew of the Bible the word translated as Nazarite is [נזיר](NZIR) intonated as nazir, an active intensive of the root word [נזר](NZR). [נזר](NZR) is used as a verb over various parts of Numbers 6, to instruct the means in fulfilling the [נזיר](NZIR).

[נזר](NZR) means consecrated-dedicated, separated from the rest. Rather than as Nazarite, it should have been translated as Nazirite. Especially with the presence of yod, would have compelled translators to transliterate it as NaZIR not NaZaR.

Perhaps if they had transliterated it as NaZIR, then they would lose the link they try to make with the town of Nazareth.

But the problem is the town of Nazareth is spelled in Hebrew as [נצרת](NTsRT) NaTseReT. They may sound nearly the same but linguistically, there is a gulf of difference between a Zayin and a Tsadi.

In Hebrew, Christians are called [נצרי](NTsRI), but Christianity had been deceptively trying to pass this 1st century error as [נזרי](NZRI), in their European language bibles. Deceptively trying to pass [נצר](NTsR) as the [נזיר](NZIR) in Judg 13:5.