Cana
Cana is an ancient city mentioned in the New Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Horbat Qana. It appears across 4 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Cana of Galilee holds a place of singular honor in the Fourth Gospel as the location of Jesus' first miracle — the transformation of water into wine at a wedding banquet (John 2:1–11). John records that Jesus, his mother Mary, and his disciples were invited to the wedding, and when the wine ran out, Mary interceded with her son. At Jesus' instruction, servants filled six stone water jars to the brim, and the water became wine of surpassing quality. The steward declared it the finest wine served. John notes that through this miracle at Cana, Jesus "revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him." Cana appears again in John 4:46–54 as the place where Jesus healed the son of a royal official from Capernaum — a healing performed at a distance by word alone, marking it as Jesus' second sign in Galilee. The village is also mentioned as the hometown of Nathanael (John 21:2), one of the twelve disciples. These narratives establish Cana as a place where the divine power of Christ first manifested publicly in Galilee.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The identification of New Testament Cana remains debated. The traditional Catholic site is Kafr Kanna, a village about 8 km northeast of Nazareth with a Franciscan church marking the wedding site. However, the more archaeologically favored location is Khirbet Qana (Horbat Qana), a hilltop ruin approximately 14 km north of Nazareth. Excavations at Khirbet Qana have revealed remains from the Iron Age through the Byzantine period, including evidence of a substantial Jewish village in the first century CE. Caves beneath the site show Christian veneration, with crosses and pilgrim inscriptions, supporting its identification as the biblical Cana.
Verse Appearances (4)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →