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Document Details :

Title: Nazareth avant Jésus
Subtitle: Un nouvel examen historique
Author(s): HAMIDOVIC, D.
Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Volume: 41    Date: 2004   
Pages: 95-107
DOI: 10.2143/ANES.41.0.562922

Abstract :
An administrative text from Tell Hasor in Galilee holds the name “Nassura”. This tablet dating from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1180) is perhaps the first attestation of Nazareth in history. A new study of the excavations’ reports and new discoveries on the site allow to think Nazareth was a small city or a built area in Bronze Age. Around our era, the designation of Nazareth as a “city” in New Testament cannot be corroborated by archaeology. We propose to understand the locution “city of Nazareth” as a remembrance of a golden age, when a city existed in Bronze Age. This expression may be a literary figure to explain the choice of Messiah’s birthplace.

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