CANA OF GALILEE (Κανά, G2830), meaning prob. reed, from the Heb. קָנֶה, H7866). A village in Galilee, noted as the location of Christ’s first miracle, where at the marriage feast He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). Following a period of travel He again visited Cana (4:46). The only other mention of this place is in 21:2, as the home of Nathanael. There was also a village named Kanah (Heb. Qānāh), near Tyre (Josh 19:28), hence it became necessary to designate the “Cana of Galilee” as such in order to clarify its provenience.
The actual location of this site is still in some doubt, though many scholars favor the second of the two following locations:
1. Kefr Kenna. The traditional association, some three to four m. NE of Nazareth, on the road to Tiberias. It lies on the S side of the plain called Sahl Tor’ān, adjacent to a range of hills, and has a good spring, but not the marshes and reeds expected from its name. A Gr. Orthodox church near the road has several stone jars reported used in the miracle; and another commemorative church, built by the Franciscans and located near the village center, has some archeological evidence for a third to fourth cent. structure. This consists of a mosaic floor fragment with an ancient Heb.-Aram. inscr., and is thought by some archeologists to have been part of a synagogue. A small chapel, commemorating the location of the house of Nathanael, is also shown. There is some reason to believe that this village became identified with the Gospel miracle as a convenience for pilgrims to the holy places, traveling, in this case, from Nazareth toward Capernaum and Bethsaida.
2. Khirbet Qana. (Arab., Qana el-Jelil = “Cana of Galilee”). The best identification, the site being located some eight to nine m. directly N of Nazareth, and is so shown on maps in most newer atlases. It is situated on the N edge of the plain called Sahl el-Baṭṭuf (called in early times the Plain of Asochis). The topography includes marshes, and the site, though not as yet excavated, shows potsherds from the Roman and Byzantine periods, together with some sherds and coins from the time of Christ. There is also evidence of cisterns and other construction.
The Crusaders seem to have identified this place as Cana of Galilee, and the location fits the reports of medieval travelers, who speak of a monastery and church, with one of the original water jars. Josephus spent some time living at “Cana, a village in Galilee,” in the plain of Asochis (Life, XVL, XLI), not far from the N Galilean Jewish fortress of Jodephath (Yotapata). It was at this place he was taken prisoner by the Romans, thus finishing his military career.
Eusebius, quoted by Jerome, places Cana in Asher, near Sidon and Tyre, which could fit the identification with Kh. Qana, but not that of Kefr Kenna. The miracle of Cana was commemorated by a reported annual flowing with wine in the “Cathedral” (St. Theodore’s) Church at Gerasa. The large basilica faced a paved court in which the fountain stood. This miraculous occurrence is described by Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia (Salamis) in Cyprus.
Bibliography Epiphanius, Panarion haer, LI 30; 1-2 Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller, etc. (a.d. 375), 301; E. Kraeling, Bible Atlas (1956), 372, 373; D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible (1957), 189; G. Wright, Biblical Archaeology (1962), 239; M. Pearlman and Y. Yannai, Historical Sites in Israel (1965), 76; J. Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament (1969), 66.
Maps: Kraeling, Bible Atlas (1956), 254, Map V; Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1956), 146; Wright and Filson, Westminster Bible Atlas (1956), 123, Plates XII, A; XIV, C.