In Matthew 2:23And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
See All... it says "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

I have looked quite thoroughly for this verse in the prophets but cannot find it. I believe it must be there because I believe the Spirit of God wrote it. The only instances I can find are the verses referring to Samson in Judges 13, and a possible reference to being a Nazarite ('Nezer' in the Hebrew here I believe) in Genesis 49:26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
See All... where Joseph is 'separate' from his brethren.  Can you help any please?

Since this is a difficult passage, I will make several extended comments that I hope will be helpful.

• This is a much-disputed verse. One commentator (Broadus) gives six historical interpretations and then slightly favors a couple of them without coming to any real conclusion.
• The prophecy concerns Jesus being called a Nazarene, not a Nazarite.  The two are different. A Nazarene is one who comes from the town of Nazareth--the obvious meaning of the text. A Nazarite is one who has taken the Nazarite vow. Jesus was clearly not a Nazarite. The restrictions of the Nazarite as seen in Numbers 6:1-8 [1] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: [3] He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. [4] All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. [5] All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. [6] All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. [7] He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. [8] All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
  See All... do not match the life of Christ. He ate and drank with the Jews (Matthew 11:19The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
  See All...) and touched dead bodies.
• One way to understand the verse is to consider the statement "which was spoken by the prophets." Certainly the prophets "spoke" prophecies that were not recorded in the written word of God. However, in an effort to give full disclosure, I find 12 other times in Matthew where this formula (something spoken by a prophets or prophets) is mentioned (see Matthew 1:22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
  See All...; 2:15Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
  See All..., 17; 3:3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
  See All...; 4:14
  See All...; 8:17
  See All...; 12:17
  See All...; 13:35
  See All...; 21:4
  See All...; 24:15
  See All...; 27:9
  See All..., 35). It seems that all 12 of these quotes that were spoken by prophets are also a part of written scripture. Though this might be a technical way to explain the problem, it does not match the pattern of scripture.
• However, the plain statement, "He shall be called a Nazarene," is not found in the Old Testament. In fact, the city of Nazareth is not mentioned by name in the Old Testament. Josephus does not even mention it. It was a mean, little village not thought worthy of mention. And, when prophecy does associate a place with the Christ, it is Bethlehem of Judah and not Nazareth in Galilee (Micah 5:2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
  See All...). The Jews of the time of Christ understood the connection of Christ with Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-6 [1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, [2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. [3] When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. [5] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, [6] And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
  See All...; John 7:42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
  See All...).

However, it seems that no one expected there to be any connection of the Messiah with the town of Nazareth. Nathanael asked, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
See All...). When the identity of Christ was in question, the Jews asked, "Shall Christ come out of Galilee?" (John 7:41Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
See All...). The Pharisees, who knew that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, declared, "for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet" (John 7:52They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
See All...).  It does not matter whether the prophets only spoke it or also wrote it in scripture, if they were known to declare this prophecy, why did no one know anything about it? Why was Matthew the only one to ever mention it?  Notice also, it was not just the declaration of one prophet. This prophecy had been made by "prophets." At least two and perhaps more of the prophets had spoken this. Yet, it seems that no one knew of their prophecy. What is the answer?

• This brings me to my conclusion. I believe that the prophecy was a written one and that it was to be found in several of the prophets.  However, because it came from a play on words, it would have been missed both by the multitudes and by the scribes and Pharisees. Some prophecies are written to tell us to expect a certain event. However, some prophecies cannot be seen until after the event occurs. They are placed there in order to show us that God knew what He was doing all along. It is only by looking back after the fulfillment that we can see the prophecy. But, in seeing the prophecy and its fulfillment, we see more clearly the plan and providence of God.

The root for Nazareth is the Hebrew word that is translated "stem" in (Isaiah 11:1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
See All...,) which states, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." The stem here (the only place the English word occurs in scripture) is the cut off stump of a tree or a stub. The rod growing from the stem is parallel to the Branch growing out of the roots. The rod and the Branch are a prophecy referring to Jesus Christ. The rod grows out of the stem--the cut-off portion of the tree--just as Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth. The picture is of a tree that has been cut down and is considered dead. However, out of that stump comes new life in the form of a rod or branch. This points to the kingly line of David that had been cut down so that no one of his line sat on the throne of Israel. It also points to the spiritually lifeless town of Nazareth.

But Isaiah is only one prophet. Where do the "prophets" come in? I think the connection comes in the identity of the Messiah as the Branch. Every time the Messiah is called the Branch in the Old Testament, God is pointing out that He grows up out of a dead stem and out of the remaining roots of a felled tree. In the New Testament, we find that this dead stump is also a picture of the village of Nazareth. So, how many prophets use the picture of Christ as the Branch. At least three of them do:  (Isaiah 4:2In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
See All...; 11:1
See All..., Jeremiah 23:5Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
See All...; 33:15
See All..., and Zechariah 3:8Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
See All...; 6:12
See All....)  This solves the problem of the plural "prophets."

So, how does the connection of Christ with Nazareth fit into the gospel story? It is very important. He becomes known as "Jesus of Nazareth" and is called by this name 17 times in the gospels and Acts--even by the unclean spirits (Mark 1:23-24 [23] And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, [24] Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
See All...; Luke 4:33-35 [33] And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, [34] Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. [35] And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
See All....) This title was placed on the cross by Pilate (John 19:19And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
See All...). It is the title Jesus used to introduce Himself to Saul who became the Apostle Paul (Acts 22:8And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
See All...). The early Christians were even known by their enemies as "the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
See All...).

Nazareth was a little, dirty town. It was treated with contempt by the exalted Pharisees and the common people alike. Yet, it was the soil, perhaps we should say the stem, out of which Christ grew. His enemies associated Him with this city as a slur. He wore the title as an honorable badge. Truly, the prophets did say, "He shall be called a Nazarene."