John 2:1 (WEB)
The third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
John 2:1 (KJV)
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
Key words
- τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃtē hēmera tē tritē · Greek
- 'the third day' — counting from the days marked in 1:29, 35 and 43, Cana falls on the seventh day of John's opening week.
- γάμοςgamos · Greek
- 'marriage' — a wedding; Genesis' creation week likewise ends with the wedding of the first man and woman.
- ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Ἰησοῦhē mētēr tou Iēsou · Greek
- 'the mother of Jesus' — John never calls her by name.
Why it matters
John opens with 'In the beginning,' like Genesis, then counts off days until a wedding on 'the third day' — the seventh day of a new creation week. Pitre reads Cana as a new-creation scene in which the Woman of the new creation appears at a wedding, as Eve did at the first. It is the first of the two scenes in John where Jesus calls his mother 'Woman.'