How special is Nazareth? How special is the olive tree?

Nazareth Village was recreated as it was as Jesus' time.  They rebuilt houses using the same kind of materials used in the first century.  They used other archaeological sites as models to make sure that the buildings they built were authentic.

The land that they created Nazareth Village on was actually a first century farm and winery.  The winery and farm were about 500 meters from the actual village.

A winepress was found in the area of Nazareth Village.

The door showing the eye of the needle

The entrance to the village is a door with a smaller door in it. The larger door was used to move caravans through and such.  The smaller door was used for everything else.  This prevented soldiers from entering with weapons easily.   The smaller door is called the eye of the needle.  Does this sound familiar?  We had to bend over to get through that smaller door.  Do you think a camel could get through it?

An olive left over from
the harvest.

The olive trees in Nazareth Village are very old trees that were transplanted from other areas.  Even though they were transplanted, they are growing and producing showing how hardy the olive tree is.  It can survive drought, floods and fire and can live thousands of years.  Isn't it an amazing tree?   They symbolize many things including life, prosperity and endurance.

Netzeret
(Nazareth)

Okay, here's something really interesting.  Little shoots come up from the base of the olive tree.  They are the beginnings of new trees.  The name of these little shoots in Hebrew is netzer.  The name Nazareth in Hebrew is Netzeret which means new shoot or branch that grows from the root.  Now consider what Isaiah 11:1 says "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Jesus is from Nazareth.  Nazareth was built by people who came from Bethlehem which is the city of David.  He is the netzer of Jesse.  It's so cool what you learn when you get to the basics of the language and the area.

I'm so blessed that God allowed me to go to Israel.  Just this little tidbit makes the Bible come alive even more.