Nazareth

(naz'ah-reth.) (Anc. Geog.) A town of Palestine, in Galilee, 6 m. W.N.W. of Mount Tabor, famous in Biblical history as the birthplace of Christ. Its site is now occupied by a small, well-built town called Nas i rah, containing abt. 3,000 in hab. Nazarite, (naz'ar-it.) [From Heb. nazar, to separate.] (Script.) Under the Mosaic dispensation, one devoted wholly to the Lord in pursuance of a vow. They were sometimes bound for their whole lives, at others merely for a time. They were obliged to refrain from wine, to allow their hair to grow, and to avoid coming into contact with the dead. St. John the Baptist was a N. [s. 634]