Difference between revisions of "Nain"

<p> [[Nain]] (''Nâ'In'' ), ''Beauty.'' A town in Galilee where Christ raised the widow's dead son to life. &nbsp;Luke 7:11. It is now called Nein, and is on the northwestern edge of Little Hermon, six miles southeast of Nazareth, and 25 miles southwest of Tell Hum (Capernaum?). </p>

<p> (Gr. Ναϊ v ν '';'' according to Simon, from Heb. נָאַין ''Nain', Green Pastures;'' so written in the Eastern versions of the N.T., but Schwarz, ''Palest.'' page 169, writes נעים, as if from נָעַין, ''Gracefulness),'' a town (πόλις ) of Palestine, mentioned only in the N.T. as the place where Jesus raised the widow's son to life (&nbsp;Luke 7:11-17). Josephus speaks of a Nain, but it was different from this, being situated in the south ''(War,'' 4:9, 4). The site of Nain is described by Jerome as being two miles south of Tabor, near Endor ''(Onomast.'' s.v. Naim; Eusebius has twelve miles, but the error is probably that of a copyist writing ιβ instead of β. Neither this number, however, nor that of Jerome, is accurate). [[Phocas]] places it north of Tabor (see Reland, ''Palaest.'' page 904). As its name has always been preserved, it was recognised by the Crusaders, and has often been noticed by travellers up to the present day. It has now dwindled to a mean village called ''Nein'' (according to De Saulcy ''[Dead Sea,'' 1:75], ''Nayin,'' pronounced by the Arabs exactly as Ναϊ v ν ), which contains remains of very ancient buildings, with a fountain (Tristram, Land of Israel, page 130). It stands on a bleak, rocky slope, on the northern declivity of Jebel ed-Duhy (the "hill Moreh" of Scripture, and the "Little Hermon" of modern travellers), directly facing Tabor, from which it is four miles distant, and two and a half miles south- west of Endor. It is a small, poor hamlet, of some twenty houses, or rather huts. Round the houses, however, are pretty extensive ruins; and there are some traces of what appears to be an ancient wall. The most interesting antiquities are tombs, hewn in the rock, a short distance east of the village. It was in this direction our Lord approached, and probably to one or other of those very tombs they were bearing the corpse when he met and arrested the mournful procession (see Thomson, Land and Book, 2:158). The situation of Nain is extremely beautiful. At the foot of the slope on which it stands is the great plain of Esdraelon, bounded on the north by the gracefil wooded hills of Galilee, over which the snow-capped summits of Hermon and [[Lebanon]] ap- pear. See Robinson, Bib. Res. 2:361; [[Van]] de Velde, Syria and Palestine, 2:382; Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, page 357; Porter, Hand-book to Syria, page 358. </p>

<p> ''''' nā´in ''''' ( Ναίν , <i> ''''' Naı́n ''''' </i> ): This town is mentioned in [[Scripture]] only in connection with the visit of Jesus and the miracle of raising the widow's son from the dead &nbsp; Luke 7:11 . The name persists to this day, and in the form of <i> '''''Nein''''' </i> clings to a small village on the northwestern slope of <i> '''''Jebel''''' </i> <i> '''''ed''''' </i> - <i> '''''Duḥy''''' </i> ("Hill of Moreh"), the mountain which, since the Middle Ages, has been known as Little Hermon. The modern name of the mountain is derived from <i> '''''Neby''''' </i> <i> '''''Duḥy''''' </i> whose <i> '''''wely''''' </i> crowns the height above the village. There are many ancient remains, proving that the place was once of considerable size. It was never enclosed by a wall, as some have thought from the mention of "the gate." This was probably the opening between the houses by which the road entered the town. Tristram thought he had found traces of an ancient city wall, but this proved to be incorrect. The ancient town perhaps stood somewhat higher on the hill than the present village. In the rocks to the East are many tombs of antiquity. The site commands a beautiful and extensive view across the plain to Carmel, over the [[Nazareth]] hills, and away past Tabor to where the white peak of Hermon glistens in the sun. To the South are the heights of [[Gilboa]] and the uplands of Samaria. The village, once prosperous, has fallen on evil days. It is said that the villagers received such good prices for <i> '''''simsum''''' </i> that they cultivated it on a large scale. A sudden drop in the price brought them to ruin, from which, after many years, they have not yet fully recovered. </p>