Nazareth (נָצְרַת)
Hebrew. “Branch” or “shoot”. Name of a town in
ancient Galilee, Israel, known in the Bible as the childhood home of
Jesus
and his family. It is mentioned primarily in the Gospels of Matthew and
Luke as the hometown of Mary and Joseph, and thus associated with Jesus’
early life. Nazareth was a small, relatively obscure village during the
first century AD, and its mention in the Bible highlights its role as
the setting for key events in the narrative of Jesus’ childhood,
including the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel tells Mary she will
bear the Messiah. In broader terms, Nazareth often symbolizes humble
origins, as seen in John 1:46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”,
reflecting contemporary perceptions of the village as insignificant or
lowly. The Hebrew name derives from the root netser (נֵצֶר), meaning a
sprout or offshoot, which carries messianic significance in the Hebrew
Bible, as in Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot (netser) will come up from the stump
of
Jesse”, often interpreted by
Christians
as a reference to Jesus.
Figuratively, the name Nazareth may also symbolize the emergence of
Christianity
as a new “branch” from its Jewish roots.

Nicaea
An ancient city in Bithynia (modern-day İznik,
Turkey), historically significant in
Christianity
as the site of the
First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
Convened by Emperor
Constantine I,
the council aimed to resolve disputes within the early Church,
particularly the
Arian controversy over the divinity of
Jesus Christ.
At Nicaea, bishops from across the Roman Empire formulated the original
Nicene Creed, establishing that Jesus
Christ is consubstantial or homoousios (ὁμοούσιος) with the Father,
thereby affirming His full divinity. The council also addressed other
issues such as the date of Easter and ecclesiastical discipline, setting
a precedent for ecumenical councils in
Christian
history.

Nicene Creed
A statement of
Christian
faith originally formulated at the
First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and
later expanded at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, the
Nicene Creed defines the core beliefs of Nicene
Christianity.
It affirms the Trinity, declaring that God the Father, Jesus Christ the
Son, and the Holy Spirit are of one substance, i.e. homoousios (ὁμοούσιος),
co-eternal, and co-equal. The creed also outlines beliefs regarding the
incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and future judgment of
Jesus Christ,
the Church, and the forgiveness of sins. Adopted as a standard of
orthodoxy, it served to unify
Christian
doctrine and to counter heresies such as
Arianism that denied the full divinity
of
Christ.

Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
A statement of
Christian
faith formulated initially in the
Nicene Creed at the
First Council of Nicaea (325 AD)
and expanded at the
First Council of Constantinople (381
AD). It affirms the doctrine of the Trinity, declaring the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit as homoousios (ὁμοούσιος), i.e. one in essence, and
articulates the full divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. The creed
was developed to combat theological disputes, particularly
Arianism and
Macedonianism, which denied the
divinity of the Son and the Spirit, respectively. The expanded version
of 381 AD affirmed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is
worshipped and glorified alongside the Father and the Son. This creed
remains a foundational text for both
Eastern Orthodox
and Western
Christian
liturgical traditions and serves as a central reference for orthodox
Christian
theology.

Nimrod (נִמְרוֹד)
Hebrew. “Rebel”. Name of a
descendant of Cush, the son of Cham and great grandson of Noah. In the
Table of Nations, he is represented as
the founder of the Babylonian Empire, and as a mighty hunter (warrior)
before the Lord. The name of Nimrod has not yet been discovered among
those found in the cuneiform inscriptions, and the attempts made by Assyriologists to identify him with historical or legendary personages
known to us through these sources rest on more or less plausible
conjectures. Thus by some scholars he is identified with Gilgamesh, the
hero of the Babylonian epic. The latter, whose name appears frequently
in the inscriptions, and who is often represented in the act of
strangling a lion, is described in the poem as a powerful prince who
subdues the monster ox-faced man Eabani and makes him his companion,
after which he triumphs over the tyrant Humbaba, and slays a monster
sent against him by the deities, Amu and Ishtar. Like the Biblical
Nimrod, he reigns over the city of Erech (Arach), but the texts fail to
mention the other towns enumerated in Gen. 10:10, namely Babylon, Achad
and Chalanne. Less plausibly, he is sometimes also identified with the
Kassite king, Nazi-Murutas, or considered to be the same as Marduk, the
great Babylonian deity. A great number of Oriental legends grew up
around the scarce Biblical data concerning Nimrod. He is credited with
having instigated the building of the tower of Babel and of being the
author of Babylonian idolatry. Another legend is to the effect that
Abraham having refused to worship the statue of Nimrod was cast into a
fiery furnace. Also Nemrod.

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Noah (נֹחַ)
Hebrew. Name of a central figure in the Bible, whose name derives from
the Hebrew root nûaḥ (נוּחַ), meaning “rest, repose, or comfort”. In
Genesis 5:29, his father Lamech interprets the name as a hope that Noah
would bring relief (naḥam, “comfort”) from the curse on the ground. Noah
is most prominently known as the righteous man chosen by God to survive
the Flood (Genesis 6–9). He is described as “a just man, perfect in his
generations” who “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). According to the
narrative, Noah built the Ark at God’s command to save his family and
representatives of all animal species from the deluge. After the waters
receded, he offered sacrifices, received God’s covenant sealed with the
rainbow as a sign, and was granted permission for humanity to eat meat,
with the prohibition against consuming blood. Noah is also portrayed as
the ancestor of postdiluvian humanity through his three sons—Shem, Ham,
and Japheth—whose descendants form the genealogical framework of nations
in Genesis 10. Later passages describe Noah’s planting of a vineyard and
the episode of his intoxication (Genesis 9:20–27), which leads to the
cursing of Canaan, son of Ham. In Jewish,
Christian, and Islamic
traditions, Noah is venerated as a prophet, patriarch, and moral
exemplar, though interpretations of his character vary. Etymologically
and theologically, Noah’s name in Hebrew conveys themes of rest, relief,
and divine favour.

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