person · P0214
Rav Kahana (of Pum Nahara) רב כהנא
Rava's student and head of the school at Pum Nahara, later head of Pumbedita (fifth–sixth generation, Bavel) — the teacher before whom the young Rav Ashi sat. Several amoraim bear the name Rav Kahana; this is the later one, distinct from Rav's student of the same name whom the Rambam lists in the second generation.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רב כהנא
- Also known as
- Rav Kahana III
- Era
- amoraim
- Generation
- A6
- Received the mesorah from
- Rava
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Rav Ashi
- Teachers
- Rava
- Students
- Rav Ashi
II. When
- Traditional
- d. 4174 AM (Seleucid 725 = 414 CE, per the Iggeret)
- Academic
- d. 414 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈74 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Pumbedita
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| He is the Rav Kahana of Pum Nahara identified in the sources as a student of Rava and as the teacher of Rav Ashi — the chronologically sound link between the fourth generation and the Talmud's redactor.
The identification among the several Rav Kahanas is a scholarly reconstruction from talmudic notices ("when we were at Rav Kahana's").
|
external reconstruction | ★★★☆☆ | |
| The Iggeret's chronicle of Pumbedita records: "after him reigned Rav Kahana, and he died in the Seleucid year 725" (414 CE). | tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| Rav Kahana was based at Pum Nahara, where local commercial disputes were brought before him for adjudication.
The wool-merchants episode places his court activity directly in Pum Nahara.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Rav Nachman of Nehardea visited Rav Kahana at Pum Nahara on the eve of Yom Kippur.
The visit and location are explicit.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Rav Kahana accompanied Rav Shimi bar Ashi on a journey from Pum Nahara to the Babylonian palm groves.
Concrete travel episode.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Rav Hanan of Nehardea visited Rav Kahana at Pum Nahara and found him sitting and studying.
The halakhic discussion is omitted.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ |