Hebrew word · H7071

קָנָה

kanah

Kanah

Place name: the Wadi Kanah, and separately a town in Asher (Joshua 19:28). Almost certainly linked to qaneh, "reed, cane."

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Kanah = "reed"

a stream flowing into the Mediterranean Sea that marked the boundary between Ephraim on the south and Manasseh on the north

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Joshua 17:9

Range of meaning

Place name: the Wadi Kanah, and separately a town in Asher (Joshua 19:28). Almost certainly linked to qaneh, "reed, cane."

Against the English

English versions just transliterate it as "Kanah," which hides the picture of reeds.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jerome's Latin Vulgate seems to have translated the name by its meaning (a "valley of reeds") rather than transliterating it. Most historical geographers (e.g. Aharoni) identify it with modern Wadi Qanah, a tributary of the Yarkon that reaches the sea north of Jaffa.

Where it appears

Joshua · 3

  1. Joshua 16:8 קָנָ֔ה Kanah

    From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim,

    Here: Name of the wadi, from the word for 'reed', so 'Reed Brook'. It runs west from the hills toward the coastal plain and also marks the border in Josh 17:9.

  2. Joshua 17:9 קָנָ֜ה Kanah

    From there the border continued southward to the Brook of Kanah. There were cities belonging to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh, but the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and ended at the Sea.

    Here: Name of the wadi, very likely from qaneh, "reed": "Reed Brook." Usually identified with Wadi Qanah, which runs west from the hills near Shechem and joins the Yarkon river system.

  3. Joshua 19:28 וְקָנָ֑ה and Kanah

    It went on to Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.