According to the legal determination established in Talmud Bavli -Avodah Zarah 6a and 7b, the halachic status of christians (“notzrim”) appears to be that of idolaters:
However, I have read that Rav Menachem ha Meiri disputes the fact that in the aforementioned passages the term "notzrim" is referable to christians:
“Regarding what they said in the Gemara, "It is always prohibited to engage in business with notzrim," I interpret it as referring to the notzrim coming from distant lands, as this term is used in Jeremiah (4:16) who called that people notzrim in the name of Nebuchadnezzar; it is well known that in Babylon there was a statue dedicated to the sun, and all the people of Nebuchadnezzar worshipped it ;and you should already have known that the sun's term of service [in astrological concepts] is on Sunday. Therefore, they called this day notzri, because it was the day celebrated by Nebuchadnezzar because the Sun presided over it; this is reasonable and clear".
(Beit ha-Bechirah on Avodah Zarah 2a)
Unless I'm mistaken, in the rabbinic literature the term “notzrim” always means “christians", from “Yeshu ha Notzri” (Jesus the Nazarene).
I would therefore like to know:
-Whether the term "notzrim" used in Jeremiah 4:16 is entirely identical, on the linguistic level, to what we find in the aforementioned Talmudic passages;
-Whether this interpretation of Rav ha Meiri is also endorsed by other masters of the Jewish tradition.
