Cana
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 (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 ( Josh. 19:28 ).
Capernaum
Nahum’s town, a Galilean city frequently mentioned in the history of our Lord. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament. After our Lord’s expulsion from Nazareth ( Matt. 4:13-16 ; Luke 4:16-31 ), Capernaum became his “own city.” It was the scene of many acts and incidents of his life ( Matt. 8:5 , 14 , 15 ; 9:2-6, 10-17; 15:1-20; Mark 1:32-34 , etc.). The impenitence and unbelief of its inhabitants after the many evidences our Lord gave among them of the truth of his mission, brought down upon them a heavy denunciation of judgement ( Matt. 11:23 ). It stood on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The “land of Gennesaret,” near, if not in, which it was situated, was one of the most prosperous and crowded districts of Palestine. This city lay on the great highway from Damascus to Acco and Tyre. It has been identified with Tell Hum, about two miles south-west of where the Jordan flows into the lake. Here are extensive ruins of walls and foundations, and also the remains of what must have been a beautiful synagogue, which it is conjectured may have been the one built by the centurion ( Luke 7:5 ), in which our Lord frequently taught ( John 6:59 ; Mark 1:21 ; Luke 4:33 ). Others have conjectured that the ruins of the city are to be found at Khan Minyeh, some three miles further to the south on the shore of the lake. “If Tell Hum be Capernaum, the remains spoken of are without doubt the ruins of the synagogue built by the Roman centurion, and one of the most sacred places on earth. It was in this building that our Lord gave the well-known discourse in John 6 ; and it was not without a certain strange feeling that on turning over a large block we found the pot of manna engraved on its face, and remembered the words, ‘I am that bread of life: your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.’”, (The Recovery of Jerusalem.)
Chorazin
Named along with Bethsaida and Capernaum as one of the cities in which our Lord’s “mighty works” were done, and which was doomed to woe because of signal privileges neglected ( Matt. 11:21 ; Luke 10:13 ). It has been identified by general consent with the modern Kerazeh, about 2 1/2 miles up the Wady Kerazeh from Capernaum; i.e., Tell Hum.
Cornelius
A centurion whose history is narrated in Acts 10 . He was a “devout man,” and like the centurion of Capernaum, believed in the God of Israel. His residence at Caesrea probably brought him into contact with Jews who communicated to him their expectations regarding the Messiah; and thus he was prepared to welcome the message Peter brought him. He became the first fruit of the Gentile world to Christ. He and his family were baptized and admitted into the Christian church ( Acts 10:1 , 44 -48). (See CENTURION .)