“[…] they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth” (Luke 2:39). But was Nazareth really a town at that time?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.3762Keywords:
Nazareth, archeology, polis, vicus, cityAbstract
Nazaret był miejscem życia, wychowania i pracy Jezusa Chrystusa od powrotu z Egiptu do rozpoczęcia publicznej misji głoszenia Królestwa Bożego i wzywania do nawrócenia. W związku z tym dla chrześcijan to położone w Galilei miasto jest miejscem bardzo ważnym nie tylko ze względów pielgrzymkowych, lecz także naukowych. Czterokrotne określenie przez ewangelistów tej miejscowości mianem polis wzbudziło zainteresowanie i kontrowersje, gdyż badania archeologiczne prowadziły do konkluzji, iż Nazaret z epoki grecko-rzymskiej nie wyczerpywał klasycznej koncepcji polis. Analiza dostępnych danych biblijnych, filologicznych, socjologicznych oraz najnowszych odkryć archeologicznych prowadzi do wniosku, że ewangeliści nie popełnili błędu, określając Nazaret terminem polis, choć dużo bardziej odpowiednie byłoby łacińskie pojęcie vicus, oznaczające w tamtej epoce małe miasto zlokalizowane w pobliżu dużej metropolii.
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