Located in the Lower Galilee, 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) south of Nazareth, Nein covers a land area of approximately 1,000 dunams (250 acres) and falls under the jurisdiction of Bustan al-Marj Regional Council, whose headquarters it hosts.

[9] Nein, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596, the village was located in the nahiya of Safa in the liwa of Lajjun.

They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to winter pastures and occasional revenues; the taxes totalled 80,000 akçe.

[12] In 1838 Robinson and Smith noted that Nein had decreased in size over the ages, and was at time a small hamlet, inhabited by a few families.

[21] Edward Robinson and Eli Smith, who visited Palestine in the mid-19th century, identified Nein as, "the Nain of the New Testament" (Greek: Ναΐν) where, according to Luke 7:11–17, Jesus raised a young man from death and reunited him with his mother.

The people who were standing around were all struck by the event, seen as a sign that 'a great prophet' had arisen among them, and the report of it spread widely across Judea and the surrounding region.