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Cana (of Galilee)
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ka'-na (zeal; jealousy; possession, place of reeds, reedy)
RELATED: Capernaum, Galilee, Jesus, Nathanael |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
reedy, A town of Galilee, near Capernaum. Here our Lord
wrought his first miracle, the turning of water into wine ( John 2:1 - 11 ; 4:46
). It is also mentioned as the birth-place of Nathanael ( John 21:2 ). It is not
mentioned in the Old Testament. It has been identified with the modern Kana el-Jelil,
also called Khurbet Kana, a place 8 or 9 miles north of Nazareth. Others have
identified it with Kefr Kenna, which lies on the direct road to the Sea of Galilee,
about 5 miles north-east of Nazareth, and 12 in a direct course from Tiberias.
It is called "Cana of Galilee," to distinguish it from Cana of Asher ( Joshua
19:28 ).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
zeal; jealousy; possession
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(place of reeds) of Galilee, once Cana in Galilee, a
village or town not far from Capernaum, memorable as the scene of Christs first
miracle, ( John 2:1 , 2:11 ; 4:46 ) as well as of a subsequent one, ( John 4:46
, 4:54 ) and also as the native place of the apostle Nathanael. ( John 21:2 )
The traditional site is at Kefr-Kenna , a small village about 4 1/2 miles northwest
of Nazareth. The rival site is a village situated farther north, about five miles
north of Seffurieh (Sepphoris) and nine north of Nazareth.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ka'-na, (Kana tes Galilaias):
This was the scene of Christ's earliest miracle, when, at the marriage feast,
He turned water into wine (John 2:1). It was the home of Nathaniel (John 21:2).
From Cana, after the marriage, Jesus "went down" to Capernaum (John 2:12), and
returned at the request of the centurion (John 4:46 , 51). These are the only
notices of Cana in Scripture, and from them we learn merely that it was in Galilee,
and in the uplands West of the lake. Other villages of the same name are mentioned
by Josephus, but probably this one is intended by the Cana where for a time he
dwelt (Vita, 16) which he locates in the plain of Asochis (ibid., 41). The Greek
kana probably transliterates an old Hebrew qanah, "place of reeds." This ancient
name survives in Khirbet Qana, a ruined site with rockhewn tombs, cisterns and
a pool, on the northern edge of Sahl el-Battauf, the plain of Asochis. Near by
are marshy stretches where reeds still abound: the name therefore is entirely
appropriate. The name Qana el-Jelil , the exact Arabic equivalent of Kana tes
Galilaias, is also heard among the natives. This, however, may have arisen from
the suggested identification with Cana of the Gospel. The position agrees well
enough with the Gospel data.
Kefr Kennah, a thriving village about 3 3/4 miles from Nazareth, on the
southern edge of Sahl Tor`an, the plain South of the range of that name, through
which the road from Nazareth to Tiberias passes, has also many advocates. This
identification is accepted by the Greek and Latin churches, which have both built
extensively in the village; the Greeks showing stone jars said to have been used
in the miracle, and the traditional house of Nathaniel being pointed out. A copious
spring of excellent water rises West of the village; and the pomegranates grown
here are greatly prized. The change of name, however, from Qana to Kennah--(note
the doubled n), is not easy; and there are no reeds in the neighborhood to give
the name any appropriateness.
Onom locates Cana in the tribe of Asher toward Great Sidon, probably thinking
of Kana, a village about 8 miles South of Tyre. The pilgrims of the Middle Ages
seem to be fairly divided as to the two sites. Saewulf (1102), Brocardius (1183),
Marinus Sanutus (1321), Breydenbach (1483) and Anselm (1507) favor the northern
site; while on the side of Kefr Kennah may be reckoned Paula (383), Willibald
(720), Isaac Chelo (1334) and Quaresimus (1616). It seems pretty certain that
the Crusaders adopted the identification with Khirbet Kana (Conder, Tent Work,
69 f). While no absolute decision is possible, on the available evidence probability
points to the northern site.
Col. Conder puts in a claim for a third site, that of 'Ain Kana on the road from
er-Reineh (a village about 1 1/2 mile from Nazareth on the Tiberias road) to Tabor
(Tent Work, 81).
W. Ewing
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, cana, define, jesus christ first miracle, kana el-jelil, kefr kenna, khurbet kana, nathanael birth place, town, water into wine
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