Joseph was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus.
Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus by Guido Reni, c. 1635
Saint Joseph and the Christ Child by Guido Reni, 1640
Dream of St Joseph, c. 1625–1630, by Gerard Seghers
Christ in the House of his Parents, 1850, by John Everett Millais
Nazareth is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. In 2022 its population was 78,007. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and commercial center for the Arab citizens of Israel, as well as a center of Arab and Palestinian nationalism. The inhabitants are predominantly Arab citizens of Israel, of whom 69% are Muslim and 30.9% Christian. The city also commands immense religious significance, deriving from its status as the hometown of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity and a prophet in Islam.
View of Nazareth, with the Basilica of the Annunciation at the center
Nazareth as depicted on a Byzantine mosaic (Chora Church, Constantinople)
Historic photo of Mary's Well
The Basilica of the Annunciation