And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. The final fulfillment citation is unusual — no specific prophetic text matches he would be called a Nazarene. Matthew may be alluding to the cluster of related terms: the netzer (branch) of Isaiah 11:1 from the stump of Jesse, the Nazirite tradition of consecrated service, or the general reputation of Galilee as despised territory. The plural prophets rather than the prophet may suggest a thematic summary rather than a specific citation. Nazareth was a village of no importance — Nathanael's what good can come from Nazareth? in John 1:46 captures the cultural assessment. The king of the universe will be identified with a town that nobody respects — the pattern of divine reversal that Matthew's genealogy already announced.

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