"and Jesus came and resided in a city called Nazareth that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'"
Matthew 2:23
The gist of this proof-text is to support the claim (erroneous at that) of the Messiah hailing from the Galilean city of Nazareth.
There are two details of significance here:
• There is no requirement found anywhere in Tanach that the Messiah needs to come from Nazareth
• The verse Matthew cites appears nowhere in Tanach
Christian apologists attempt to answer this away by suggesting that the verse is actually referring to the oath of the “Nazir,” (Numbers 6: 1-21) who had to abstain from all grape products (especially wine), could not cut his hair or come into contact with a corpse. The problem with this explanation is that the word for Nazir is written with a Zayin “ז” whereas the word Nazareth is spelled with a Tzadi “צ.” They are close phonetically, yet two distinct words.
Here is another example of manufacturing of verses:
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “and they took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price was valued by the children of Israel. And they gave them for the Potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
Matthew 27: 9-10
The writer of these words is trying to prove that the prophet Jeremiah actually predicted the behavior of Judas the disciple of Jesus who allegedly betrayed his mentor for the payment of 30 pieces of silver. When Judas finally felt remorse, just before committing suicide, he allegedly tossed the sack of silver into the Temple. The quote that Matthew is hoping you will find, concerning the 30 talents of silver, simply doesn’t exist. It has been woven from whole cloth.
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