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Jordan (River)
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jor'-dan ((yarden) flowing downward, the river of judgment, descender)
RELATED: Arabah, Ark of the Covenant, Bethabara, Dan, Dead Sea, Ford, Gideon, Jabbok, Jericho, Jesus, John the Baptist, Joshua, Palestine, Sea of Galilee, Wandering |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
Hebrew Yarden, "the descender;" Arab. Nahr-esh-Sheriah,
"the watering-place" the chief river of Palestine. It flows from north to south
down a deep valley in the centre of the country. The name descender is significant
of the fact that there is along its whole course a descent to its banks; or it
may simply denote the rapidity with which it "descends" to the Dead Sea.
It originates in the snows of Hermon, which feed its perennial fountains. Two
sources are generally spoken of.
From the western base of a hill on which once stood the city of Dan, the northern
border-city of Palestine, there gushes forth a considerable fountain called the
Leddan, which is the largest fountain in Syria and the principal source of the
Jordan.
Beside the ruins of Banias, the ancient Caesarea Philippi and the yet more ancient
Panium, is a lofty cliff of limestone, at the base of which is a fountain. This
is the other source of the Jordan, and has always been regarded by the Jews as
its true source. It rushes down to the plain in a foaming torrent, and joins the
Leddan about 5 miles south of Dan (Tell-el-Kady).
But besides these two historical fountains there is a third, called the Hasbany,
which rises in the bottom of a valley at the western base of Hermon, 12 miles
north of Tell-el-Kady. It joins the main stream about a mile below the junction
of the Leddan and the Banias. The river thus formed is at this point about 45
feet wide, and flows in a channel from 12 to 20 feet below the plain. After this
it flows, "with a swift current and a much-twisted course," through a marshy plain
for some 6 miles, when it falls into the Lake Huleh, "the waters of Merom" (q.v.).
During this part of its course the Jordan has descended about 1,100 feet. At Banias
it is 1,080 feet above sea-level. Flowing from the southern extremity of Lake
Huleh, here almost on a level with the sea, it flows for 2 miles "through a waste
of islets and papyrus," and then for 9 miles through a narrow gorge in a foaming
torrent onward to the Sea of Galilee (q.v.).
"In the whole valley of the Jordan from the Lake Huleh to the Sea of Galilee there
is not a single settled inhabitant. Along the whole eastern bank of the river
and the lakes, from the base of Hermon to the ravine of Hieromax, a region of
great fertility, 30 miles long by 7 or 8 wide, there are only some three inhabited
villages. The western bank is almost as desolate. Ruins are numerous enough. Every
mile or two is an old site of town or village, now well nigh hid beneath a dense
jungle of thorns and thistles. The words of Scripture here recur to us with peculiar
force: 'I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation...And
I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall
be astonished at it...And your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate' ( Leviticus
26:31 - 34 ).", Dr. Porter's Handbook.
From the Sea of Galilee, at the level of 682 feet below the Mediterranean, the
river flows through a long, low plain called "the region of Jordan" ( Matthew
3:5 ), and by the modern Arabs the Ghor, or "sunken plain." This section is properly
the Jordan of Scripture. Down through the midst of the "plain of Jordan" there
winds a ravine varying in breadth from 200 yards to half a mile, and in depth
from 40 to 150 feet. Through it the Jordan flows in a rapid, rugged, tortuous
course down to the Dead Sea. The whole distance from the southern extremity of
the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is in a straight line about 65 miles, but following
the windings of the river about 200 miles, during which it falls 618 feet. The
total length of the Jordan from Banias is about 104 miles in a straight line,
during which it falls 2,380 feet.
There are two considerable affluents which enter the river between the Sea of
Galilee and the Dead Sea, both from the east. (1) The Wady Mandhur, called the
Yarmuk by the Rabbins and the Hieromax by the Greeks. It formed the boundary between
Bashan and Gilead. It drains the plateau of the Hauran. (2) The Jabbok or Wady
Zerka, formerly the northern boundary of Ammon. It enters the Jordan about 20
miles north of Jericho.
The first historical notice of the Jordan is in the account of the separation
of Abraham and Lot ( Genesis 13:10 ). "Lot beheld the plain of Jordan as the garden
of the Lord." Jacob crossed and recrossed "this Jordan" ( Genesis 32:10 ). The
Israelites passed over it as "on dry ground" ( Joshua 3:17 ; Psalms 114:3 ). Twice
afterwards its waters were miraculously divided at the same spot by Elijah and
Elisha ( 2 Kings 2:8 2 Kings 2:14 ).
The Jordan is mentioned in the Old Testament about one hundred and eighty times,
and in the New Testament fifteen times. The chief events in gospel history connected
with it are (1) John the Baptist's ministry, when "there went out to him Jerusalem,
and all Judaea, and were baptized of him in Jordan" ( Matthew 3:6 ). (2)
Jesus also "was baptized of John in Jordan" ( Mark 1:9 ).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
the river of judgment
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(the descender), The one river of Palestine, has a course
of little more than 200 miles, from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the
Dead Sea. (136 miles in a straight line. --Schaff.) It is the river of the "great
plain" of Palestine --the "descender," if not "the river of God" in the book of
Psalms, at least that of his chosen people throughout their history.
There were fords over against Jericho, to which point the men of Jericho pursued
the spies. ( Joshua 2:7 ) comp. Judges 3:28. Higher up where the fords or passages
of Bethbarah, where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites, ( Judges 7:24 ) and
where the men of Gilead slew the Ephraimites. ch. ( Judges 12:6 ) These fords
undoubtedly witnessed the first recorded passage of the Jordan in the Old Testament.
( Genesis 32:10 ) Jordan was next crossed, over against Jericho, by Joshua. (
Joshua 4:12 , 4:13 ) From their vicinity to Jerusalem the lower fords were much
used. David, it is probable, passed over them in one instance to fight the Syrians.
( 2 Samuel 10:17 ; 17:22 ) Thus there were two customary places at which the Jordan
was fordable; and it must have been at one of these, if not at both, that baptism
was afterward administered by St. John and by the disciples of our Lord. Where
our Lord was baptized is not stated expressly, but it was probably at the upper
ford. These fords were rendered so much more precious in those days from two circumstances.
First, it does not appear that there were then any bridges thrown over or boats
regularly established on the Jordan; and secondly, because "Jordan overflowed
all his banks all the time of harvest." ( Joshua 3:15 ) The channel or bed of
the river became brimful, so that the level of the water and of the banks was
then the same. (Dr. Selah Merrill, in his book "Galilee in the Time of Christ"
(1881), says, "Near Tarichaea, just below the point where the Jordan leaves the
lake (of Galilee), there was (in Christs time) a splendid bridge across the river,
supported by ten piers." --ED.)
The last feature which remains to be noticed in the scriptural account of the
Jordan is its frequent mention as a boundary: "over Jordan," "this" and "the other
side," or "beyond Jordan," were expressions as familiar to the Israelites as "across
the water," "this" and "the other side of the Channel" are to English ears. In
one sense indeed, that is, in so far as it was the eastern boundary of the land
of Canaan, it was the eastern boundary of the promised land. ( Numbers 34:12 )
The Jordan rises from several sources near Panium (Banias ), and passes through
the lakes of Merom (Huleh ) and Gennesaret. The two principal features in its
course are its descent and its windings. From its fountain heads to the Dead Sea
it rushes down one continuous inclined plane, only broken by a series of rapids
or precipitous falls. Between the Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea there are
27 rapids. The depression of the Lake of Gennesaret below the level of the Mediterranean
is 653 feet, and that of the Dead Sea 1316 feet. (The whole descent from its source
to the Dead Sea is 3000 feet. Its width varies form 45 to 180 feet, and it is
from 3 to 12 feet deep. -Schaff.) Its sinuosity is not so remarkable in the upper
part of its course. The only tributaries to the Jordan below Gennesaret are the
Yarmuk (Hieromax) and the Zerka (Jabbok). Not a single city ever crowned the banks
of the Jordan. Still Bethshan and Jericho to the west, Gerasa, Pella and Gadara
to the east of it were important cities, and caused a good deal of traffic between
the two opposite banks. The physical features of the Ghor, through which the Jordan
flows, are treated of under PALESTINE.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
jor'-dan (yarden, "flowing downward"; 'Iordanes):
1. Source:
The Jordan river proper begins at the junction of four streams (the Bareighit,
the Hasbany, the Leddan, and the Banias), in the upper part of the plain of Lake
Huleh. The Bareighit receives its supply of water from the hills on the West,
which separate the valley from the river Litany, and is the least important of
the four. The Hasbany is the longest of the four (40 miles), issuing from a great
fountain at the western foot of Mt. Hermon near Hasbeiya, 1,700 ft. above the
sea, and descends 1,500 ft. in its course to the plain. The Leddan is the largest
of the four streams, issuing in several fountains at the foot of the mound Tell
el-kady (Dan, or Laish) at an elevation of 505 ft. above the sea. The Banias issues
from a celebrated fountain near the town of Banias, which is identified as the
Caesarea Philippi associated with the transfiguration. The ancient name was Paneas,
originating from a grotto consecrated to the god Pan. At this place Herod erected
a temple of white marble dedicated to Augustus Caesar. This is probably the Baal-gad
of Joshua 11:17 and 12:7. Its altitude is 1,100 ft. above tide, and the stream
falls about 600 ft. in the 5 miles of its course to the head of the Jordan.
2. Lake Huleh:
The valley of Lake Huleh, through which the Jordan wends its way, is about 20
miles long and 5 miles wide, bordered on either side by hills and mountains attaining
elevations of 3,000 ft. After flowing 4 or 5 miles through a fertile plain, the
Jordan enters a morass of marshy land which nearly fills the valley, with the
exception of 1 or 2 miles between it and the base of the mountains upon the western
side. This morass is almost impenetrable by reason of bushes and papyrus reeds,
which in places also render navigation of the channel difficult even with a canoe.
Lake Huleh, into which the river here expands, is but 7 ft. above tide, and is
slowly contracting its size by reason of the accumulation of the decaying vegetation
of the surrounding morass, and of the sediment brought in by the river and three
tributary mountain torrents. Its continued existence is evidence of the limited
period through which present conditions have been maintained. It will not be many
thousand years before it will be entirely filled and the morass be changed into
a fertile plain. When the spies visited the region, the lake must have been much
larger than it is now.
At the southern end of Lake Huleh, the valley narrows up to a width of a few hundred
yards, and the river begins its descent into levels below the Mediterranean. The
river is here only about 60 ft. broad, and in less than 9 miles descends 689 ft.
through a narrow rocky gorge, where it meets the delta which it has deposited
at the head of the Sea of Galilee, and slowly winds its way to meet its waters.
Throughout this delta the river is easily fordable during a great part of the
year.
3. Sea of Galilee:
The Sea of Galilee occupies an expansion of the Jordan valley 12 miles long and
from 3 to 6 miles wide. The hills, reaching, in general, 1,200 or 1,500 ft. above
the lake, come down close to its margin on every side. On the East and South they
are mainly of volcanic origin, and to some extent of the same character on the
Northwest side above Tiberias. In the time of Christ the mouth of the river may
have been a half-mile or more farther up the delta than now.
4. The Yarmuk:
As all the sediment of the upper Jordan settles in the vicinity of the delta near
Capernaum, a stream of pellucid water issues from the southern end of the lake,
at the modern town of Kerak. Before it reaches the Dead Sea, however, it becomes
overloaded with sediment. From Kerak the opening of the valley is grand in the
extreme. A great plain on the East stretches to the hills of Decapolis, and to
the South, as far as the eye can reach, through the Ghor which descends to the
Dead Sea, bordered by mountain walls on either side. Four or five miles below,
it is joined on the East by the Yarmuk, the ancient Hieromax the largest of all
its tributaries. The debris brought down by this stream has formed a fertile delta
terrace 3 or 4 miles in diameter, which now, as in ancient times, is an attractive
place for herdsmen and agriculturists. The valley of the Yarmuk now furnishes
a natural grade for the Acre and Damascus Railroad, as it did for the caravan
routes of early times. The town of Gadara lies upon an elevation just South of
the Yarmuk and 4 or 5 miles East of the Jordan.
Ten miles below the lake, the river is joined on the West by Wddy el-Bireh, which
descends from the vicinity of Nazareth, between Mt. Tabor and Endor, and furnishes
a natural entrance from the Jordan to Central Galilee. An aqueduct here still
furnishes water for the upper terrace of the Ghor. Wddy el-Arab, with a small
perennial stream, comes in here also from the East.
5. El-Ghor:
Twenty miles below Lake Galilee the river is joined by the important Wady el-Jalud,
which descends through the valley of Jezreel between Mt. Gilboa and the range
of the Little Hermon (the hill Moreh of Judges 7:1). This valley leads up from
the Jordan to the valley of Esdrelon and thence to Nazareth, and furnished the
usual route for Jews going from Jerusalem to Nazareth when they wished to avoid
the Samaritans. This route naturally takes one past Beisan (Bethshean), where
the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were exposed by the Philistines, and past Shunem
and Nain. There is a marked expansion of the Ghor opposite Beisan, constituting
an important agricultural district. The town of Pella, to which the Christians
fled at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, lies upon the East side of the
Ghor; while Jabesh-gilead, where the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were finally
taken by their friends and cremated, is a little farther up the slope of Gilead.
Twenty miles farther down, the Ghor, on the East, is joined by Wady Zerka (the
brook Jabbok), the second largest tributary, separating Ammon from Gilead, its
upper tributaries flowing past Ammon, Mizpeh, and Ramoth-gilead. It was down this
valley that Jacob descended to Succoth.
A few miles below, the Wady Farah, whose head is at Sychar between Mts. Ebal and
Gerizim, descends from the West, furnishing the natural route for Jacob's entrance
to the promised land.
At Damieh (probably the Adam of Joshua 3:16), the Ghor is narrowed up by the projection,
from the West, of the mountain ridge terminating in Kurn Surtubeh, which rises
abruptly to a height of 2,000 ft. above the river.
The section of the Ghor between Damieh and the Dead Sea is of a pretty uniform
width of 10 to 12 miles and is of a much more uniform level than the upper portions,
but its fertility is interfered with by the lack of water and the difficulty of
irrigation. From the vicinity of Jericho, an old Roman road follows up the Wady
Nawaimeh, which furnished Joshua a natural line of approach to Ai, while through
the Wady el-Kelt is opened the natural road to Jerusalem. Both Ai and the Mount
of Olives are visible from this point of the Ghor.
6. The Zor:
In a direct line it is only 70 miles from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea, and this
is the total length of the lower plain (the Zor); but so numerous are the windings
of the river across the flood plain from one bluff to the other that the length
of the river is fully 200 miles. Col. Lynch reported the occurrence of 27 rapids,
which wholly interrupted navigation, and many others which rendered it difficult.
The major part of the descent below Lake Galilee takes place before reaching Damieh,
1,140 ft. below the Mediterranean. While the bluffs of the Ghor upon either side
of the Zor, are nearly continuous and uniform below Damieh, above this point they
are much dissected by the erosion of tributary streams. Still, nearly everywhere,
an extended view brings to light the original uniform level of the sedimentary
deposits formed when the valley was filled with water to a height of 650 ft. (see
ARABAH; DEAD SEA).
The river itself averages about 100 ft. in width when confined strictly within
its channel, but in the early spring months the flood plain of the Zor is completely
overflowed, bringing into its thickets a great amount of driftwood which increases
the difficulty of penetrating it, and temporarily drives out ferocious animals
to infest the neighboring country.
7. The Fords of Jordan:
According to Conder, there are no less than 60 fording-places between Lake Galilee
and the Dead Sea. For the most part it will be seen that these occur at rapids,
or over bars deposited by the streams which descend from one side or the other,
as, for example, below the mouths of the Yarmuk, Jabbok, Jalud and Kelt. These
fords are, however, impassable during the high water of the winter and spring
months. Until the occupation by the Romans, no bridges were built; but they and
their successors erected them at various places, notably below the mouth of the
Yarmuk, and the Jabbok, and nearly opposite Jericho.
Notwithstanding the great number of fords where it is possible to cross at low
water, those which were so related to the lines of travel as to be of much avail
were few. Beginning near the mouth of the Jordan and proceeding northward, there
was a ford at el-Henu leading directly from Jericho to the highlands Northeast
of the Dead Sea. Two or three miles farther to the North is the ford of the pilgrims,
best known of all, at the mouth of Wady Kelt. A few miles farther up the river
on the road leading from Jericho to es-Salt, near the mouth of the Wady Nimrin,
there is now a bridge where the dependence was formerly upon the ford. Just below
the mouth of the Wady Zerka (Jabbok) is the ford of Damieh, where the road from
Shechem comes down to the river. A bridge was at one time built over the river
at this point; but owing to a change in the course of the stream this is now over
a dry water-course. The next important crossing-place is at the opening of the
valley of Jezreel coming in from the West, where probably the Bethabara of the
New Testament should be located. Upon this ford a number of caravan routes from
East to West converge. The next important crossing-place is at el-Mujamia, 2 or
3 miles below the mouth of the Yarmuk. Here, also, there was a Roman bridge. There
are also some traces of an ancient bridge remaining just below the exit of the
river from Lake Galilee, where there was a ford of special importance to the people
residing on the shores of this lake who could not afford to cross in boats. Between
Lake Galilee and Lake Huleh, an easy ford leads across the delta of the stream
a little above its junction with the lake; while 2 or 3 miles below Lake Huleh
is found "the bridge of Jacob's daughters" on the line of one of the principal
routes between Damascus and Galilee. Above Lake Huleh the various tributaries
are easily crossed at several places, though a bridge is required to cross the
Bareighit near its mouth, and another on the Hasbany on the main road from Caesarea
Philippi to Sidon, at el-Ghagar.
George Frederick Wright
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, ford, gideon, jordan, joshua crossed, jesus baptized by john the baptist, river of palestine, river of the great plain, the descender, the river of God, yarden
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