Nazareth
The word Nazareth has several different meanings: according to the San Girolamo it means “blooming”, “keeping watch” or according to the Hebrew word “Netzer” נצר – “descendant, offspring of”. Nazareth is located in the Galilee, thirty kilometers away from the hill Tabor and the Sea of Galilee.
In Nazareth, the angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus that she’ll get pregnant and have a son. In Nazareth also, the Holy Family returned after exile in Egypt, Matthew, 22-23., and this is the place where Jesus with his family lived for thirty years until leaving to John the Baptist who baptized him in the Jordan River (Mark 1: 9).
After baptism and overcoming the temptations of Satan, Jesus returned to Galilee, his hometown (Luke 4.16 to 28), but the disbelief of his fellow citizens forced him out of Nazareth (Mark 6: 1-6) where he never returned.
The Church of the Annunciation
The Church of the Annunciation was built in 1969 on the top of the archaeological remains of four former churches. On the facade of the church and on the altar in the cave that once was Virgin Mary’s house is a quote from the Gospel of John 1, 14: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, “Verbum caro factum est et habitavit and nobis”.
If you want to visit Nazareth and The Church of the Annunciation with an experienced tour guide, look for contact information of Tanya Ben Haim Marcetic in the contact section of the website and make your tour of Israel a unique experience that you’ll never forget!