Canneh is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Canneh is mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel as one of the cities or trading centers associated with the city of Tyre. It was likely located in Mesopotamia, near Babylon. The name appears only once in the King James Bible, in Ezekiel 27:23, where the prophet Ezekiel delivers an oracle of judgment against Tyre, the great commercial power of the ancient world. In this passage, Canneh is listed alongside Haran, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad as one of the places whose merchants traded with Tyre.
The setting of Ezekiel 27 is a lament over Tyre’s impending downfall. The chapter describes Tyre as a magnificent ship, richly supplied by the trade of many nations, and then announces that this ship will be broken and sink into the sea. Canneh appears in a list of trading partners, showing how far-reaching Tyre’s commercial network had become. These cities and regions supplied goods and merchants that contributed to Tyre’s wealth and splendor.
Scripture says nothing further about Canneh as an individual or a people beyond this single reference. The verse simply records that the merchants of Canneh were among those who did business with Tyre. Canneh’s inclusion in this list serves to underscore the vast scale of Tyre’s commerce and the many nations that shared in it—nations that would also witness or experience the consequences of Tyre’s fall. The reference is brief, but it places Canneh within the wider biblical world of trade, prophecy, and judgment.
The Name
The meaning of the name Canneh is not clearly recoverable from the Hebrew text. Some scholars have suggested possible connections to a root meaning “to gather” or “to nest,” and some have proposed identifying Canneh with a location known from other ancient sources, but these suggestions are not firmly established. Because the meaning is uncertain, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a meaning that cannot be verified. The name remains, in Scripture, simply the designation of a trading center whose merchants dealt with Tyre.
A Closing Thought
Canneh appears only once, in a list of merchants, yet that single mention reminds us that no place and no people are forgotten by God. Canneh’s merchants played a small part in the wealth of a proud city that would soon fall. Their story invites us to consider where we place our confidence. Tyre trusted in riches and trade, and it could not stand. The brief mention of Canneh is a quiet warning and a quiet comfort: earthly splendor passes, but the Lord remembers even the smallest names written in His Word.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezekiel 27:23 — Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.