The Nazarene

“and He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” Matthew 2:23
Many Bibles have helpful footnotes where Scriptures are quoted by other Scriptures, giving the reference where the prophecy can be found. For example, at Matt. 2:18, there is a footnote advising the reader that this is quoted from Isa. 40:3. However, at this verse, there is no footnote.
This is because “He will be called a Nazarene” is not a direct quotation from any of the Old Testament prophets. What is being referred to, however, is a play on words. In Isaiah 11:1, the coming Messiah is referred to as “the Branch”. The Hebrew word is netser. It is from this that the word ‘Nazarene’ is extracted in Matt. 2:23.
There is also another aspect to the word ‘Nazarene’ (note that this is not the same as a Nazirite, as in Num. 6). Nazareth was a backwater town, despised by the devout Jews (c.f. John 1:46). The words ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ were used not as a neutral descriptor, but as a derogatory term. This aspect of the treatment of Jesus by men was most certainly prophesied about in the Old Testament:
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not” (Isa. 53:3). See also Ps. 22:6-7, Ps. 69:7-8.