Nazareth is spelled “Nazara” in the Greek text of this verse, as opposed to the usual spelling “Nazareth” (2.23; 21.11). It is obvious that the two variant spellings point to the same place, and most all translations follow the common spelling Nazareth. After leaving Nazareth, Capernaum evidently becomes Jesus’ permanent home (see Mark 2.1).

Dwelt (Good News Translation “live in”) is rendered “settled in (or, at)” by several translations (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Translator’s New Testament), while Barclay has “made his home in.” The verb is used extensively in the New Testament, with the basic meaning “make one’s home in.” Elsewhere Matthew uses it in 2.23; 12.45; 23.21.

Capernaum by the sea: in the quotation from Isaiah, which follows in verses 15-16, the original meaning was probably the Mediterranean Sea. But in the context of Matthew’s Gospel the meaning is clearly Lake Galilee, and Good News Translation has made this information explicit for its readers. Also, since this is the first time Capernaum is mentioned in the Gospel, Good News Translation defines it fully as “a town.”

The town of Capernaum is on the northern edge of Lake Galilee just to the west of where the Jordan River empties into it. The territory of Naphtali is immediately west of Lake Galilee, extending up north as far as the city of Dan. South and west of the territory of Naphtali is the territory of Zebulun. These were the territories where the two Israelite tribes by these names settled during the days of Joshua. In New Testament times both of these territories were in the geographical region of Galilee.

Nazareth and Capernaum are both towns. The context may make this clear, but some will find that it will help their readers if they say “the town of Nazareth” and “the town of Capernaum.”

Most translations will find it useful to follow the lead of Good News Translation in translating by the sea: “This town was on the shore of Lake Galilee” or “the town of Capernaum which is beside Lake Galilee.” If readers of the translation live far from any lake or sea, then the translation may have “the big water” or something similar for sea.

The construction and leaving … dwelt poses a problem in languages where it is impossible to say he left a place if the information is not given that he had gone there. In such languages, translations have sometimes had “He went to Nazareth, then left there and went to live in Capernaum.” However, it is more likely that the verse reflects the fact that up till this time, Jesus’ home had been Nazareth, where his family lived, and he moved now to establish his home in Capernaum. A sentence such as in Good News Translation would indicate this. Another way to do it is “He moved his home from Nazareth to Capernaum and lived there.”

Zebulun and Naphtali can be treated as the names of regions, as in the phrase “in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali” or, as some translations have it, “in the region of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .