Matthew 4:13

“And leaving Nazareth, etc.] Where he was educated, and had lived many years together; and where he preached first to the good liking of the people, who wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth: though afterwards they were so much displeased with him, that they thrust him out of their city; and intended to have destroyed him, by casting him down headlong from the brow of an hill; and which seems to be the reason of his leaving this city; (see <420416>Luke 4:16-31) he came and dwelt in Capernaum a city of Galilee. (<420431>Luke 4:31) which is upon the sea-coast by the sea of Tiberias, or Genesareth in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: it bordered on both these…”

“And leaving Nazareth--The prevalent opinion is that this refers to a first visit to Nazareth after His baptism, whose details are given by Luke (Luk 4:16, &c.); a second visit being that detailed by our Evangelist (Mat 13:54-58), and by Mark (Mar 6:1-6). But to us there seem all but insuperable difficulties in the supposition of two visits to Nazareth after His baptism; and on the grounds stated in Luk 4:16, &c., we think that the one only visit to Nazareth is that recorded by Matthew (Mat 13:53-58), Mark (Mar 6:1-6), and Luke (Luke 4:14-30). But how, in that case, are we to take the word "leaving Nazareth" here? We answer, just as the same word is used in Act 21:3, "Now when we had sighted…”

“Leaving Nazareth - Because his townsmen cast him out, and rejected him. See Luke 4:14-30. Came and dwelt in Capernaum - This was a city on the northwest corner of the Sea of Tiberias. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but is repeatedly referred to in the Gospels. Though it was once a city of renown, and the metropolis of all Galilee, the site it occupied is now uncertain. When Mr. Fisk, an American missionary, traveled in Syria in 1823, he found 20 or 30 uninhabited Arab huts occupying what are supposed to be the ruins of the once-celebrated city of Capernaum. The exact site of this ancient city has been a question of much interest, and is not supposed to be as yet fully settled;…”

“Leaving Nazareth - Namely, when they had wholly rejected his word, and even attempted to kill him, Luk 4:29. Matthew 4:15”

“4:13 Capernaum was in Galilee, a district viewed negatively by the religious establishment in Judea and Jerusalem (see John 1:46; 7:41-42, 52). Many Judeans considered Galileans to be uncultured, with a lazy command of the language (cp. Matt 26:73), a factor sometimes thought to affect the accuracy of their teachings. Galilee also had a proportionately larger Gentile population than Judea did.”

“leaving: Luk 4:30, Luk 4:31 Capernaum: Mat 11:23, Mat 17:24; Mar 1:21; Joh 4:46, Joh 6:17, Joh 6:24, Joh 6:59 Zabulon: Jos 19:10-16, Zebulun Nephthalim: Jos 19:32-39, Naphtali Matthew 4:14”