y; that, _e.g._, the Messiah, the
Servant of God, the Prince of Peace were called the Son of the Messiah,
&c., is not only destitute of all foundation, but is, even in itself,
most improbable. To this must still be added the consideration that
this interpretation of _Ben-Nezer_ is opposed by the constant
interpretation of the Jews. _Jarchi_, in a gloss on that passage of the
Talmud referred to, explains _Ben Nezer_ by: "He who has come from the
town of Nazareth." _Abarbanel_ [Pg 108] in his book _Majenehajeshua_,
after having quoted from _Jalkut Shimeoni_ the passage in question,
observes: "Remark well how they have explained the little horn in
Daniel vii. 8, of the _Ben Nezer_ who is Jesus the _Nazarene_." From
the Lexicon _Aruch_ which forms a weighty authority, Buxtorf quotes:
"[Hebrew: ncr ncri hmqll] Nezer, (or Ben Nezer), is the accursed
_Nazarene_." _Finally_--It could not well be supposed that the Jews, in
a contest where they heap the most obnoxious blasphemies on Christ,
should have given Him an honourable epithet which they had simply
received from the Christians.

2. The result which we have obtained is confirmed by the statements of
Christian writers. Even at the time of _Eusebius_ (Hist. Eccles. i. 7),
and of _Jerome_, the place was called _Nazara_. The latter says:
"_Nazareth_: there exists up to this day in Galilee a village opposite
Legio, fifteen miles to the east of it, near Mount Tabor, called
_Nazara_" (comp. _Reland_ i. S. 497). In _Epistol._ xvii. ad
_Marcellum_ he expressly identifies the name with _Nezer_, by saying:
"Let us go to Nazareth, and according to a right interpretation of that
name, we shall see there the flower of Galilee."

3. To this may be added, that the _Gentilitia_ formed from Nazareth can
be explained only when the [Hebrew: t] is not considered as belonging
to the original form of the name. For, in that case, it must
necessarily be found again in the _Gentilitia_, just as, _e.g._, from
[Hebrew: entt] we could not by any means form [Hebrew: enti], but only
[Hebrew: entti]. In the New Testament the two forms [Greek: Nazoraios]
and [Greek: Nazarenos] only occur, never the form [Greek: Nazaretaios].
_Gieseler_ has felt the difficulty which these names present to the
common hypothesis, but has endeavoured (l. c. p. 592) to remove them by
the conjecture that this form, so very peculiar, had been coined by a
consideration of [Hebrew: ncr] which the first Christians were
accustomed