The sentence He shall be called a Nazarene
does not fulfill a specific prophecy, because Matthew refers to prophets in the plural. Jesus being dismissed as a Nazarene (Matthew 13:54–58; John 1:46, John 7:41–42,John 7:52) is a fulfillment of the general prophetic portrait of the Messiah as one who is rejected by his own people (see Isaiah 42:2,Isaiah 53:3; Zechariah 12:10).
None in particular. There is no Old Testament text where we find the words He shall be called a Nazarene.
The word referenced by Matthew here needs to be understood in light of the way he introduces it as something spoken by the prophets
(plural)—in other words not by one specific prophet in particular. Significantly, he also omits the verb saying
(see also Matthew 26:56). This omission usually occurs when that which follows is not a citation (see Mark 14:49, Luke 24:25, Luke 24:27,Luke 24:44, and John 17:12).1
Since Matthew 2:23 therefore does not contain a quotation, it is evident that the evangelist is not here attempting to refer to what one specific prophet said, but rather articulate a message proclaimed by the prophets in general. That he was not referring to a particular text is, in other words, apparent from the fact that Matthew 2:23 does not contain a quotation.2
In most cases the reference to Jesus as a Nazarene (a man from Nazareth) or a Galilean (see Matthew 26:69, Matthew 26:71) signifies a denial of his status as Messiah (Matthew 13:54–58, John 1:46, John 7:41–42,John 7:52). It is in this sense that his residing in Nazareth is a fulfillment of the prophecies that the Messiah’s ministry would be disregarded and that he would be rejected by his people (in, among other places, Isaiah 42:2, Isaiah 53:3 and Zechariah 12:10).3
In other words, what Matthew conveys here is that the return from Egypt and the move to Nazareth in particular shows that Jesus’ life accords with the prophecies of the Scriptures. This is the only explanation for why he would have had to spend his youth in Nazareth as opposed to anywhere else.4
23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.