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55-667: The location is disputed, with the four primary locations being Kafr Kanna , Khirbet Qana and Reineh in Lower Galilee and Qana in Upper Galilee in Lebanon. The Arabic name "Qana al-Jalil" has been said to apply to a number of sites. The name possibly derives from the Hebrew or Aramaic word for reeds . Among Christians and other students of the New Testament , Cana is best known as

110-451: A waqf (religious endowment). The endowments were supposed to be eternal, but were presumably ended by the conquest of the Crusaders in 1099. The Persian traveler Nasir-i-Khusraw visited the village in 1047 CE and described the place in his diary: To the southward [of Kafar Kannah] is a hill, on the top of which they have built a fine monastery . It has a strong gate, and the tomb of

165-591: A Latin translation of the Onomasticon was made by Jerome in little over half a century later. Greco-Roman referents are used by Eusebius in his Onomasticon for Hebrew names, such as Ailia for Jerusalem , Nicopolis for Emmaus , Diospolis for Lydda ( Lod ), Eleutheropolis for Beit Gubrin , Azotus for Ashdod , Jamnia for Yavne , Neapolis for Shechem , Scythopolis for Beit Shean , Diocaesarea for Sepphoris , Philadelphia for Amman , and Ptolemais for Acre . The complete demographic diversity of

220-546: A church was built on the site. Eusebius references the encampment of the Legio X Fretensis at Aila (in southern Israel, near modern Aqaba and Eilat ); the X Fretensis was probably transferred from Jerusalem to Aila under Diocletian (r. 284–305). Jerome provided a Latin translation of Eusebius's Onomasticon , which Jerome translated in 388 while living in Bethlehem. Jerome's Latin edition includes various designations, based on

275-448: A map by noted cartographer Petrus Vesconte in 1321 CE. Burchard of Mount Sion describes a cave complex located there that was used as a veneration site: "the place is shown at this day where the six water pots stood, and the dining-room where the tables were placed." Just about 1.5 miles northeast from Nazareth is the Arab town of Reineh , and on the way out of it toward Mount Tabor there

330-534: A police officer shooting at the man while he was backing away. The mayor of the town is Mujahed Awadeh. The town is identified by Christians as the town of Cana , where Jesus performed a miracle at the Marriage at Cana (John 2:1–12). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1914, the identification of Kafr Kanna with Cana dates back to at least the 8th century. However, the general view starting from

385-529: A ruin), Debir [ sic ], En-Gedi , Eshtemoh , Hormah, Thalca, Juttah , Nineveh [ sic ], Naarah , and Carmel (mentioned incidentally to Ziph); one a Samaritan village: Tirzah (Thersila) in Batanaea ; and two Christian settlements: Anaea and Jattir . The town Debir [ sic ], being " Dabeira on Mount Thabor, in the borders of Diocaesarea " in Lower Galilee had

440-683: A site dating to the Early Chalcolithic Period. A fortification wall indicates that the settlement was fortified. Kana was mentioned in the Amarna letters . In 2001, remains of a 4th-century BCE pottery kiln that produced everted rim storage jars were found adjacent to the Kanna spring. During the first century CE, Kafr Kanna was a Jewish village. It was mentioned by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in his The Life of Flavius Josephus . On

495-652: Is a magic amulet from the 5th to 7th century, including a metal inscribed charm with 41 lines of Aramaic using the Jewish script. This amulet was designed to counter various fevers, referencing sacred names like Abraxas and the letter tsade (צ), symbolizing the name Sabaoth , as well as a Hebrew idiom. In the early 9th century, under Abbasid rule , Abu Salih Khayr al-Khadim, an eunuch of Caliph al-Mu’tazz b’illah , left all his property in Kafr Kanna and another Galilee village, Kfar Tavor (then called Kafr Tabaria ), to

550-597: Is a small spring named 'Ain Kânah, which was identified by Claude Reignier Conder his Tent Work in Palestine (1878) as the better candidate for the location of Cana, based on etymological grounds. Some early Christian pilgrim reports mention a spring in association with the Cana of Galilee, but no excavations have been conducted there yet. Kafr Kanna Kafr Kanna ( Arabic : كفر كنا , Kafr Kanā ; Hebrew : כַּפְר כַּנָּא )

605-580: Is an Arab town in the Galilee , part of the Northern District of Israel . It is associated by Christians with the New Testament village of Cana , where Jesus turned water into wine . In 2022 its population was 24,108. It has a religiously mixed population of Muslims and Christians from different denominations. A Jewish village during antiquity, Kafr Kanna is mentioned in an extant 9th-century Islamic marble stele . Under Crusader rule, from

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660-528: Is located "in the suburbs of Jerusalem". The Onomasticon has traditionally been dated before 324, on the basis of its sparse references to Christianity, and complete absence of remarks on Constantine the Great 's buildings in the Holy Land. The work also describes traditional religious practices at the oak of Mamre as though they were still happening, while they are known to have been suppressed soon after 325, when

715-518: Is the first of the seven miraculous "signs" by which Jesus's divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured. The consensus of modern scholarship is that the Fourth Gospel was addressed to a group of Jewish Christians, and very possibly a group living in Judea province ; so it is unlikely that the evangelist would have mentioned a place that did not exist. There is a minority view that

770-491: Is visiting Cana when he is asked to heal the son of a royal official at Capernaum ; and John 21 ( John 21:2 ), where it is mentioned that Nathanael (sometimes identified with the Bartholomew included in the synoptic gospels' lists of apostles) comes from Cana. The Book of Joshua mentions one city ( 19:28 ) and one brook ( 16:8 ; 17:9 ) named Kanah (Cana) – neither is likely to be the Cana of Galilee. In secular history,

825-425: The 1945 statistics , the population was 1,930; 1,320 Muslims and 610 Christians, while the total land area was 19,455 dunams , according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 1,552 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 11,642 for cereals, while 56 dunams were classified as built-up areas. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Kafr Kanna was captured by units of Israel's 7th Brigade in

880-511: The 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities , Kufr Kenna had a total population of 1,175; 672 Muslims and 503 Christians, of the Christians, 264 were Greek Orthodox , 82 Roman Catholics, 137 Melkites (Greek Catholics) and 20 Anglicans . The population had increased at the 1931 census to 1,378; 896 Muslims and 482 Christians, in a total of 266 houses. In

935-540: The Land of Israel , or Palestine , in the 4th-century CE is not fully known. However, Eusebius who lived in Beit Gubrin (Eleutheropolis) speaks briefly about the country's ethnic make-up, principally, in the area of the country in which he was most familiar. Out of fourteen entries where he mentions the town's ethnic details, eleven of these settlements were Jewish, namely: Ekron, Anea (thought to be Khirbet Ghuwein et-Taḥta , now

990-519: The University of Puget Sound and archaeologist Tom McCollough reveal architectural and numismatic remains demonstrating that the site contained a modest-sized village from the Hellenistic period onward (c. 200 BCE–650 CE), including a structure that bears similarities to Roman-period synagogues, and several mikveh pools for Jewish ceremonial bathing. Most importantly, they uncovered a cave complex on

1045-513: The annals of Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III , who conquered the Galilee in a 733 BC campaign, contain a badly preserved list of cities that had been thought to mention a certain Kana . It relates that six hundred fifty captives were taken there. However, a revised transliteration revealed the one well-preserved syllable to be Ku , not Ka . Flavius Josephus mentions more than one place named Cana. In

1100-662: The second level in the past. Eusebius%27 Onomasticon The Onomasticon ( Ancient Greek : Ὀνομαστικόν , Onomastikón ), more fully On the Place Names in the Holy Scripture ( Περὶ τῶν Τοπικῶν Ὀνομάτων τῶν ἐν τῇ Θείᾳ Γραφῇ , Peri tōn Topikōn Onomatōn tōn en tē Theia Graphē ), is a 4th-century gazetteer of historical and then-current place names in Palestine and Transjordan compiled by Eusebius , bishop of Caesarea . The Onomasticon sits uneasily between

1155-460: The 12th to mid-13th centuries, it was a casale (country estate). Kafr Kanna had become a large village by 1300, during Mamluk rule. It flourished as one of the largest localities in Palestine and one of the two market towns of the Safed Sanjak under Ottoman rule in the 16th century, when its population was mostly Muslim with a significant Jewish minority. By the 19th century, its population

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1210-596: The 12th-century placed Cana at Khirbet Kana , a site 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) to the northwest of Kafr Kanna. Later, the traditional identification with Kafr Kanna reemerged strongly in the mid-14th-century and until the present day. Cana is also mentioned as the home town of the Apostle Bartholomew , as "Nathanael of Cana" in John 21:2. The main churches in Kafr Kanna are the Franciscan Wedding Church,

1265-553: The Byzantine and Medieval periods show that Khirbet Kana was regarded as the true site of New Testament Cana from a very early period. A guidebook written by Theodosius between 517 and 527 CE titled The Layout of the Holy Land identifies Khirbet Kana and indicates that two of the vessels were still at the location. A pilgrim account written by Saewulf in 1101 to 1103 CE also identifies the site, as do Belard of Ascoli (c. 1155 CE) and Dominican friar Burchard of Mount Sion (1283 CE), and

1320-521: The Cana of the New Testament, where Jesus converted the water into wine, at Kefr Kenna", however he argued that Cana's location was in fact at the ruins known as Kana el Jalil (Cana of Galilee). In the 1881 PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) , described it as a stone-built village, containing 200 Christians and 200 Muslims. A population list from about 1887 showed that Kefr Kenna had about 830 inhabitants; "the greater part Christians." In

1375-497: The Codex Vaticanus manuscript is Codex Parisinus Gr 464 which dates from the 16th century. These two manuscripts were edited and published by Lagarde in 1870. Eusebius organizes his entries into separate categories according to their first letters. The entries for Joshua under Tau , for example, read as follows: Tina (Kinah, 15:22): of the tribe of Judah. Telem (15:24): of the tribe of Judah. Tessam ([Azem] 15:29): of

1430-554: The Greek Orthodox Church of St George and the Baptist Church. Near the two is the (usually closed) Roman Catholic Chapel of the Apostle Bartholomew (Nathanael). Kafr Kanna achieved local council status in 1968. In 2006, there were 18,000 residents, The population grew to 20,832 in the 2014 census. As of 2014, Christians formed about 11% of the population. As is the case with many other mixed Muslim-Christian towns in

1485-519: The ancient genres of geography and lexicography , taking elements from both but serving as a member of neither. It is widely considered the most important book for the study of Palestine in the Roman period . Eusebius's description of his own method, who wrote: "I shall collect the entries from the whole of the divinely inspired Scriptures, and I shall set them out grouped by their initial letters so that one may easily perceive what lies scattered throughout

1540-424: The approximate 980 Biblical and New Testament names of places contained in those works, Eusebius identifies some 340 with locations known in his own day and age. The primary source for the Onomasticon is Codex Vaticanus , Gr. 1456 which dates from the 11th or 12th century. Erich Klostermann published a scholarly eclectic edition of the manuscript in 1904, using in addition four other manuscripts. Dependent upon

1595-434: The busy market. Among other things it traded in cloths, produced in Galilee for international consumption. Public baths and ovens were also taxed. In 1533, Ottoman officials recorded the population as 147 households, and by 1596 (or rather 1548) it grew to 475 Muslim taxpayers (426 households and 49 bachelors) and 96 Jewish taxpayers (95 households and 1 bachelor), making it the sixth most populous locality in Palestine at

1650-576: The chronicler al-Dimashqi , the district al-Batuf , called "the Drowned Meadow", belonged to the village. Al-Dimashqi further remarked that the waters of the surrounding hills drained into the area, flooding it; as soon as the land was dried up grain was sown. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire , the village flourished in the 16th century, as it lay on the western trade route between Egypt and Syria . High taxes of different kinds were levied on

1705-445: The context of the Galilee, there are two mentions in his Life : one is a place on the road from Iulias , and the other is a place where he resided, about a day's walk from Tiberias . There has been much speculation about where Cana might be. In his Gospel, the author makes no claim to have been at the wedding. Many would regard the story of the wedding at Cana as of theological rather than historical or topographical significance; it

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1760-576: The different manuscripts available to him. This Latin version of Eusebius's Onomasticon became the main source for research of Israel in the west. The edition published by Paul de Lagarde includes the Latin work compiled by Jerome under the title, Hieronymi de Situ et Nominibus Locorum Hebraicorum Liber ("Jerome's Book on the Location and Names of Hebrew Places"). Eusebius compiled his work in Greek , although

1815-563: The foot of the Nazareth range, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) northeast of Nazareth . Some scholars believe, according to archaeological evidence, that the identification of Kafr Kanna was the result of the decline of Khirbet Qana beginning in the Mamluk period. They note that it was a common practice for new and more affluent and easily accessible sites to be established in place of old ones to accommodate increases in pilgrim traffic, particularly in

1870-477: The gospel was written for a gentile audience, and those who take this view assert that the description in the passage about the marriage at Cana of "six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification", in spite of reflecting good knowledge of the ritual washing habits among Jews at the time, is specifically for a gentile audience, who would not know the topography of the Holy Land . On this hypothesis,

1925-546: The late Medieval and Ottoman periods. Karm er-Ras, the western part of Kafr Kanna, was recently excavated by Israeli archaeologist Yardenna Alexandre . The excavation revealed evidence of a substantial Roman village with a Jewish population which declined considerably in the Late Roman period, and which was finally abandoned in the Byzantine Period, explaining why the pilgrim route was shifted to Kafr Kanna. Alexandre believes

1980-458: The miracle. The first time this site is associated with New Testament Cana is in a mid-17th century report to the Pope by Francesco Quaresimo , the papal emissary to Palestine, where he noted there were two possible candidates: Khirbet Qana and Kafr Kanna. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia , a tradition dating back to the 8th century identifies Cana with the modern Arab town of Kafr Kanna , at

2035-467: The name "Cana" might have some purely symbolic significance. There are four primary locations which have been under consideration as the New Testament Cana: The village of Qana , about 18 miles (29 km) from Tyre, Lebanon , is traditionally held to be the correct site by many Christians, and is Eusebius's pick in his 4th century Onomasticon . It is a popular tourist site commemorating

2090-440: The only locality in the sanjak besides Safed to have a public bathhouse. A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by Pierre Jacotin showed the place, named as Cana , and David Roberts ' The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia illustrated the same in two separate lithographs. Edward Robinson 's 1841 Biblical Researches in Palestine wrote that "The monks of the present day, and all recent travellers, find

2145-550: The outskirts of the modern town is the tomb of the Jewish sage, rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel , who became the Nasi (president) of the Sanhedrin in 50 CE. His tomb has remained a Jewish pilgrimage site over the centuries. Excavation beneath Kafr Kanna's Franciscan church uncovered mosaic floor panels with Aramaic donor inscriptions, using the square Jewish script . An inscription on one of

2200-483: The panels commemorates "Yose son of Tanhum son of Botah," stating that he, along with his sons, made a donation for the creation of the inscribed panel. The other inscription may possibly mention the name Yeshu'a. Excavations under the same church also unearthed a round "discus" lamp dating from the second century AD, which includes a signature of the potter, named Iason. In 2023, a burial cave with decorated stone ossuaries that were used by Jews for secondary burial in

2255-465: The place in conversation with querying pilgrims. This site is located on a limestone outcropping that rises 330 feet (100 m) above the floor of the Bet Netofa Valley, 8 miles (13 km) from Nazareth and 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Sepphoris in lower Galilee. It also has long been identified as the true location of New Testament Cana. Excavations by archaeologist Douglas Edwards of

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2310-631: The place where, according to the Fourth Gospel , Jesus performed "the first of his signs", his first public miracle , the turning of a large quantity of water into wine at a wedding feast ( John 2 , John 2:1–11 ) when the wine provided by the bridegroom had run out. Although none of the synoptic gospels record the event, mainstream Christian tradition holds that this is the first public miracle of Jesus. The other biblical references to Cana are also in John: John 4 ( John 4:46 ), which mentions that Jesus

2365-614: The prophet Yunis ( Jonas ) [...] is shown within. Near the gate of the monastery is a well, and the water thereof is sweet and good. [...] Acre is 4 leagues distant. During the Crusader period, the Persian traveler Ali of Herat wrote that one could see the Maqam of Jonas , and also the grave of his son, at Kafr Kanna. This was repeated by the Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi , although he only wrote of

2420-649: The region, the Christians generally tend to live in the oldest part of town. In Kafr Kanna—and in Kafr Yasif and 'Abud , among others—there are two ancient nuclei in the town: the earlier one where Christians live, and another (also hundreds of years old) where Muslims live. Hapoel Kafr Kanna and F.C. Tzeirei Kafr Kanna plays in Liga Alef (the third tier). Beitar Kafr Kanna both play in Liga Bet (the fourth tier). Maccabi Kafr Kanna , which dissolved in 2014, have played at

2475-478: The second half of Operation Dekel (July 15–18, 1948). On July 22, 1948, the two priests, Giuseppe Leombruni (Catholic) and Prochoros (Greek Orthodox), and the Christian mayor surrendered Kafr Kanna peacefully to the advancing Haganah troops, ensuring that the population could remain in the village. Kafr Kanna remained under martial law until 1966 . On 30 March 1976, a resident of Kafr Kanna, Muhammad Yusuf Taha,

2530-537: The site is precisely identified by Josephus, but other scholars disagree. Another possible candidate is the ruined village of Khirbet Qana , meaning "the ruins of Cana." Overlooking the Beit Netofa Valley from the north, it is located about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Kafr Kanna and has been noticed by pilgrims since the 12th century or earlier. However, this could either be an ancient retention, as Edward Robinson maintained, or may have been attached to

2585-442: The south slope of the site that showed indications of use as a center for worship, including a sarcophagus lid or altar and a shelf that held two stone vessels in situ , and space for another four vessels, suggesting that Khirbet Kana was regarded as New Testament Cana from a very early time. Remains of an Arab village and a church or monastery were also uncovered immediately south of the cave complex. Other historical evidence from

2640-510: The standard Roman mile was 1,475 meters. Since most villages in the Onomasticon are far removed from Roman-built roads, scholars have concluded that Eusebius did not glean the geographical information from maps based on a milestone survey, but rather collected the information from some other source. Where there is a contemporary town at the site or nearby, Eusebius notes it in the corresponding entry. " Terebinth ", for example, describes Shechem as "near Neapolis", modern Nablus , and " Tophet "

2695-571: The text," implies that he had no similar type of book to work from; his work being entirely original, based only on the text of the Bible. Others have suggested that Eusebius had at his disposal early Roman maps of the Roman Empire with which to work, and which allowed him to record the precise distances between locations in Roman miles. Needless to say, this innovation has been very useful to modern research. Of

2750-403: The time. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees, fruit trees, cotton, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a market toll; a total of 56,303 akçe . At the time, Kafr Kanna was one of the few market villages in the Safed Sanjak (district of Safed) and the second largest after the city of Safed . It was also

2805-576: The tomb as being that of Jonas's father. The name Casale Robert was used by the Crusaders, beside variations of the Arab name. In August 1254 Julian , the lord of Sidon , sold it to the Knights Hospitaller . Around 1300, during Mamluk rule, Kafr Kanna was described as being a large village, in which lived the chiefs of various tribes. The head tribe is called Kais al-Hamra ("Kais the Red.") According to

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2860-571: The tribe of Judah. Tyre ([Zer] 19:35): of the tribe of Naphthali. Under each letter, the entries are organized first by the book they are found in, and then by their place in that book. In almost all of the entries in his geographical opus, Eusebius brings down the respective distances in Roman " milestones " ( semeia ) from major points of reference, such as from Jerusalem , Beit Gubrin (Eleutheropolis), Hebron , Ptolemais , Caesarea , etc. In Eusebius's Onomasticon , distances between each "milestone" were usually 1,600 meters–1,700 meters, although

2915-530: The years following the Bar Kohkba revolt was discovered in Kafr Kanna. During excavations at Kerem er-Ras/Karm er-Ras, located on the western periphery of the village of Kafr Kanna, a fragment of a Latin burial inscription was discovered in 2001. This inscription, dating back to the 5th century AD, mentions Legio X Fretensis . It is today on display in the Hecht Museum on Haifa . Also unearthed in Kafr Kanna

2970-449: Was one of six people killed by the Israeli army during Land Day demonstrations. In November 2014, there were clashes for some days because Israeli police killed one Israeli Arab, who attacked a police van with a knife. The police said that they had fired warning shots before shooting him but relatives said he was shot in "cold blood" and images from closed-circuit television (CCTV) showed

3025-570: Was roughly equal parts Muslim and Christian, a state which persisted through British Mandatory rule (1917–1948). Since 1948, it is a part of Israel. Archaeological excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered remains dating from the Neolithic to the Mamluk periods. Evidence for a large Early Bronze Age settlement was excavated adjacent to the perennial Kanna spring, overlaying

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