by jimwalton » Tue Oct 22, 2013 2:07 pm
Both of the birth narratives have Jesus being born in Bethlehem (Mt. 2.1; Lk. 2.4-7). The family ran to Egypt to save his life when he was about 12-18 months old, stayed there for a time (maybe a year or more), and then returned to Nazareth, in Galilee, Joseph's home town (Lk. 2.4), where Jesus grew up (Mt. 2.23). There is no Bible text that claims he was born in Nazareth. My wife was born in NJ, but moved to VT when she was young, and grew up there. She considers herself a Vermonter, for sure. In the same way, Jesus was born in Bethlehem but was raised and spent most of his life in Nazareth, and is called "Jesus of Nazareth."