Three prophets of the Old Testament described the coming Messiah as a Branch. The Hebrew word, nzr, means a shoot or sprout. The picture in Isaiah 4 and 11, Jeremiah 23 and 33, and in Zechariah 3 and 6 is one of a dead stump, hewn down, useless, without any signs of life in it that suddenly sprouts forth new growth. That was God’s promise to his people during and after their exile. When things look hopeless a new Hope will burst forth: Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
These passages are the basis for Matthew 2:23 where Jesus is said to have moved to Nazareth, “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.'” Matthew was careful to ascribe the prophecy not to a single Old Testament prophet but to “prophets” because this included Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. The word, “Nazarene,” comes from nzr, branch. This is distinctly not “nazirene,” one under a nazarite vow (Samson, Paul).
I recently heard a minister, in reading the passage from Matthew, state from the pulpit that “There is no such prophecy in the Bible.” No one could say a word against him if he had said, “I am not aware of any Bible prophecy fulfilled by Jesus moving to Nazareth,” since that would only be evidence of more learning ahead for him. But to say, “There is no such prophecy in the Bible,” in a public proclamation from a position of authority, that this is an error in the Bible, is a stumbling block to his hearer’s Christian growth. Why should they read the Bible if it contains errors they cannot identify? It leads to the pernicious conclusion that his hearers should rely on him alone to tell them what is true and what is error in the Book.