Distortion and Supersessionism
The term Notzrim (נוצרים), now commonly translated as “Christians” in modern Hebrew, carries a far more complex history than its contemporary usage suggests. It originated as a designation for a distinct faction within Israel, tracing back to pre-Christian times, with roots in the Royalist Israelites of the House of David, often associated with the Netzarim—the “Scions” of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).Over time, however, Notzrim became linked to heterodox movements, particularly those associated with Gnostic and antinomian sects, and ultimately came to be equated with Christianity due to historical processes of assimilation and doctrinal corruption.
This evolution from a royalist Israelite faction to a Christian designation was not accidental but a deliberate theological and political realignment that sought to erase its original Jewish meaning. The earliest Notzrim were a polygamous, royalist sect, some of whom venerated the Baetylus (sacred stones) and observed a Sunday-based cycle of worship, a practice foreign to Jewish tradition.
This aberration led to tensions within Judea & Galliea, especially as their leader, Ben Stada, was executed in 56 CE for spreading Gnostic teachings among his Karaite supporters in Beit Shammai. Despite their origins from the Netzarim line of David, they eventually split into antinomian and nominally Noahized sects, some of whom survived as the Mandaeans, a Gnostic group that still exists today.
By the late first century, the Sanhedrin and Herod Agrippa II sought to redirect the Notzrim away from the Jewish Qehal (community) to prevent their growing influence from invoking divine judgment upon Israel. According to the Teliya, this was done in fulfillment of Devarim 32:21, where HaShem warns that Israel would be provoked to jealousy by “a foolish nation.”
This strategy, executed by Hakham Elijah (Rav Shimeon HaKalpus), involved organizing the Ishmaelites in a way that would attract Notzrim toward a Noahide framework rather than allowing them to falsely claim Jewish identity. Ironically, this effort—intended to preserve the purity of ‘Israel’ in following Torah —was later misrepresented by anti-Jewish polemics as an act of exclusion rather than preservation.
The Notzrim in the Talmud and Rabbinic Memory
The Babylonian Talmud references the Notzrim in Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta’anit 27b, and possibly Gittin 57a, though some of these references may have been altered due to Christian censorship of Jewish texts. The Notzrim are closely associated with Minim (heretics), a broad term used for sectarians—including Jewish Christians, Gnostics, and various breakaway groups. Yeshu ha-Notzri (often identified with Jesus) is specifically mentioned in Sanhedrin 107b, where he is accused of practicing sorcery and leading Israel astray.The Toledot Yeshu, a medieval Jewish polemical work, links the Notzrimto Yeshu ha-Notzri during the Hasmonean period (c. 100 BCE), portraying them as a Hellenized faction that flourished under Queen Salome Alexandra. This narrative suggests that Notzrim were viewed not simply as theological dissenters but as a political-religious movement with foreign allegiances. Their ideological ties to the Sadducees and Boethusians, both of whom were influenced by Hellenistic thought, further supports this claim.
Christianity’s Adoption and Corruption of the Notzrim Identity
As Christianity evolved, it absorbed and redefined the term Notzrim, detaching it from its Israelite origins and aligning it with a newly formed religious identity centered on a de-Judaized messiah. By the fourth century, the Greek-speaking world translated the term into “Nazarenes” (Ναζωραῖοι), though this too created confusion. The early Nazarenes (Nazoraioi), referenced by Epiphanius, were Jewish followers of Jesus who retained Torah observance, unlike the later Pauline Christians who abandoned Jewish identity altogether. Over time, Christianity actively suppressed its Netzari roots, ensuring that the Notzrim identity became wholly associated with a Gentile-dominated, Torah-abolishing faith.Thus, the historical transformation of Notzrim reflects a broader pattern of erasure and replacement. The original royalist faction that traced its lineage to David and Jesse was absorbed, distorted, and repurposed to serve the agenda of a new religious empire that claimed to inherit Israel’s promises while severing itself from the covenantal obligations of Torah.
The Islamic Absorption of Notzrim
and the Birth of a New Supersessionism
Islam also absorbed elements of the Notzrim identity, particularly through the Nasara (نصارى), a term used in the Qur’an for Christians. However, unlike Christianity, which internalized supersessionism through doctrine and dogma, Islam took a top-down legalistic approach, embedding supersessionism into governance and law.Islamic sources reflect awareness of the Jewish origins of the Notzrim, yet they also incorporate them into a broader revisionist narrative that seeks to bypass Jewish covenantal identity altogether.
The Mandaeans, who still refer to themselves as Nasoreans (Nāṣorāyi), serve as an example of how Gnostic elements of early Notzrut survived in the East, outside both Judaism and Christendom. The division between the Antinomian Nasoreans and the Nomian (Noahized) Nasara reflects the continued tension between lawless mysticism and structured covenantal faith.
Supersessionism’s Ultimate Goal:
The Erasure of Jewish Identity in religion
The theological repurposing of Notzrim is part of a larger historical pattern of supersessionism, which aims to erase Jewish identity by either absorbing it into foreign religious structures or redefining it in ways that strip it of its covenantal meaning. In the modern era, this process has mutated into secular antisemitism, which no longer disputes Jewish theology but instead denies Jewish peoplehood altogether.This modern iteration of supersessionism manifests in the claim that Jews—especially Ashkenazi Jews—are merely a genetic or cultural group, rather than a covenantal people. The delegitimization of Israel as a nation-state stems from the same impulse that fueled historical supersessionism: the insistence that Jewish identity is either obsolete or inauthentic. Whether through Christian claims that the Church is the “New Israel,” Islamic assertions that the Qur’an has replaced the Torah, or secular accusations that modern Jews are impostors, the goal remains the same: to erase Israel’s unique role in HaShem’s covenantal plan.
However, it is important to recognize that an acceptance of Charedi Judaism—defined by its religious practice and spiritual commitment—offers a deeper reflection on faith and covenant, rather than limiting Jewish identity to an exclusive cultural or ethnic lineage shaped over the past millennium. This perspective shifts the focus from race and heritage to the enduring religious tradition that has defined Jewish continuity through history.
Restoring the True Meaning of Notzrim and Netzarim
The true Notzrim were meant to be watchmen, not usurpers. The Netzer Messiah does not replace Israel but grows from within it, fulfilling the promises given to David while preserving the Torah’s authority. If Christianity is to remain true to its roots, it must reject all forms of supersessionism and return to its original role as a Jewish-led, covenantal faith. Likewise, Islam must confront its own legacy of theological erasure and recognize that HaShem’s covenant with Israel remains intact.Until Christianity, Islam, and modern secularism confront the falsehood of their supersessionist assumptions, they will remain complicit in the ongoing erasure of Jewish covenantal identity—whether through doctrine, law, or historical revisionism. The Notzrim were never meant to be the persecutors of Israel; they were meant to guard and uphold the covenant. Only by reclaiming this role can the nations truly honor the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Endnotes
1. Isaiah 11:1 and the Netzer Prophecy
• The Hebrew term Netzer (נֵצֶר) meaning “branch” is understood in rabbinic and messianic interpretations as a reference to a Davidic figure who will emerge to restore Israel. This prophecy is often linked to Jeremiah 23:5-6, which describes the Tzemach (Branch) of David.
See:
• Rashi’s commentary on Isaiah 11:1 (Rashi, Tanakh with Commentary, Artscroll Ed.).
• David Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity(Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1988).
• David Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity(Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1988).
2. The Transformation of Notzrim in Rabbinic Literature
• The term Notzrim is used in later Jewish sources, such as the Babylonian Talmud (Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta’anit 27b), to refer to early Christians or sectarian groups. This term is distinct from Netzarim, which refers to Davidic royalists.
• Yaakov Y. Teppler, Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in Conflict in the Ancient World (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007), pp. 48-49.
• Samuel Klein, Beiträge zur Geographie und Geschichte Galiläas (1909), regarding the Notzrim in Gittin 57a.
3. Historical Confusion Between Nazarene (Nazarenoi) and Netzarim
• Early Church Fathers, such as Epiphanius (Panarion 1:18), mention a sect called the Nazoraioi who adhered to Torah, distinguishing them from later Pauline Christianity. This group likely retained elements of the original Netzarim while rejecting supersessionist doctrines.
• Ray Pritz, Nazarene Jewish Christianity: From the End of the New Testament Period Until Its Disappearance (Leiden: Brill, 1988), pp. 17-19.
4. Ben Stada and the Gnostic Influence on Early Notzrim
• The Talmudic figure Ben Stada (Shabbat 104b, Sanhedrin 67a) is often identified with Yeshu ha-Notzri, though some scholars debate whether this reference applies to Jesus of Nazareth. His execution for spreading foreign teachings aligns with later Jewish concerns over Christian Gnostic sects.
• Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007), pp. 100-105.
5. The Role of Hakham Elijah (Shimeon HaKalpus) and Deuteronomy 32:21
• The interpretation that Devarim 32:21 (“I will make them jealous by those who are not a people”) was used as a strategy to redirect Notzrim toward the Ishmaelites aligns with later Midrashic and Geonic interpretations. This is reflected in the Teliya and medieval Jewish commentaries.
• Michael L. Satlow, Jewish Law and Identity in the Greco-Roman Diaspora (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
6. The Babylonian Talmud’s Use of Notzrim as a Pejorative
• The Babylonian Talmud uses Notzrim in a clearly negative sense, distinguishing them from mainstream Jewish sects and often grouping them with Minim (heretics). See:
• Avodah Zarah 6a: Notzrim are linked to foreign worship.
• Ta’anit 27b: “Because of the Notzrim, they did not fast on that day.”
• Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Rabbinic Stories (New York: Paulist Press, 2002), p. 170.
7. Pliny the Elder’s Reference to Nazerini
• Pliny the Elder (Natural History, Book V, 22) refers to a sect called the Nazerini living near Apamea in Syria. Scholars largely reject this as a reference to early Christians.
• Bernard Dubourg, L’Invention de Jésus (Gallimard, Paris, 1987), Vol. II, p. 157.
• Bernard Dubourg, L’Invention de Jésus (Gallimard, Paris, 1987), Vol. II, p. 157.
8. Islam’s Adaptation of Notzrim and the Nasara
• The Qur’an frequently refers to Christians as Nasara (نصارى), a term derived from the Notzrim. Some Islamic traditions retain early knowledge of Jewish-Christian sects that predate Islam.
• Sidney Griffith, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008).
9. Mandaeans as Survivors of the Nasoreans
• The Mandaeans, an extant Gnostic group followign John the Baptist
