Kanai (Judaism)
zealot or fanatic in Hebrew
Kanai (Hebrew: קנאי, plural: kana'im, קנאים) is a term for a zealot or fanatic. It means one who is zealous on behalf of God.
The first kanai'im
The first kanai mentioned in the Tanakh is Pinchas (Phinehas). Pinchas was rewarded by God for his zealotry because he did not act out of hate or for any personal gain, but solely for the sake of God.
Elijah the Prophet is also described, by himself, as a kanai, as described in the Book of Kings (1 Kings 19:10): "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too". However, this sort of self-proclaimed zealotry is condemned by God, as described in verses 11-18.
Kanaim of the 1st century
Zealotry, described by Josephus as one of the "four sects" of Judaism during his time, was a political movement in first century Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jewish–Roman War (66-70 CE).
Kanaim of the 18th century
Rabbi Jacob Emden who fought the remnants of the Sabbateans was considered a kanai.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kanai (Judaism)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.