Wedding at Cana

Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding in Cana. He says this is not his wedding, which means it is related to his wedding. The numbers point to another prominent wedding story in the Bible.

John 2:1-11

1On the 3rd day there was a feast in Cana, a city of Galilee, and the mother of Joshua was there. 2Also Joshua and his disciples were called to the feast. 3The wine ran low and his mother said to Joshua, They have no wine. John 2:1-3FA 4Joshua said to her, What is it to me and you woman? My turn has not yet come. John 2:45His mother said to the helpers, Whatever he tells you do it. John 2:56There were 6 stone jars placed there for purification of the Jews that each held 2 or 3 measures. John 2:67Joshua said to them, Fill the jars with water. They filled them up to the brim. John 2:78He said to them, Now draw out and bring it to the head of ceremonies of the feast. They brought it. John 2:89When the head of ceremonies tasted the water that had become wine he did not know where it had come from, but the helpers who had drawn the water knew. Then the head of ceremonies FA called the bridegroom 10and said to him, Every man brings the best wine 1st and when they are drunk then what is weak, but you have preserved the best wine until now. A Revelation 17:1-2 John 2:9-10FA 11This is the 1st sign which Joshua performed in Cana of Galilee and thus showed his glory and his disciples believed in him. John 2:11 (John 2:1-11 BRB)

Count

3+6+2+3+9 = 23 = Hosea

Hosea

Hosea is a wedding story. It's the story of Yahvah telling a prophet to marry a prostitute. They have trouble in their marriage because though he's faithful she is not, and she has a daughter and son by other men after having a son with the prophet.

The story of the prophet and the prostitute becomes a parable for the relationship between Yahvah and Israel, where Yahvah is the faithful husband, but Israel commits adultery by running to other gods. The book eventually moves to the issue of how Israel has broken covenant and what's going to happen.

It's unclear to me how exactly the story of Hosea and the wedding at Cana relate. The wedding at Cana does appear to be a picture of Jesus' own wedding in some way, and the story of Hosea is a parable for Yahvah and Israel's marriage, but how exactly, or why, these two are linked by the math is beyond me. The probability of the wedding at Cana story landing on one of the two or three most prominent wedding stories (Hosea, Ruth, Song of Solomon) is low so the linkage is likely correct, even if the meaning is unclear at the moment.

Ryan Eaton 2012-07-18 2012-08-15