Bible Encyclopedia: Ford

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

FORD

ford (ma`abhar (Genesis 32:22; "pass" (of Michmash), 1 Samuel 13:23; "stroke" (the Revised Version, margin "passing"), Isaiah 30:32); ma`barah (Joshua 2:7 Judges 3:28; Judges 12:5, 6 Isaiah 16:2 "pass" (of Michmash), 1 Samuel 14:4; "passages" (the Revised Version, margin "fords"), Jeremiah 51:32); `abharah (2 Samuel 15:28; 2 Samuel 17:16; "ferry-boat" (the Revised Version, margin "convoy"), 2 Samuel 19:18); from `abhar, "to pass over"; compare Arabic `abar, "to pass over" and ma`bar, "a ford"):

In the journeyings of the children of Israel, in addition to the miraculous passages of the Red Sea and the Jordan, they had other streams to pass over, especially the Zered (Chisa') and the Arnon (Maujib) (Numbers 21:12, 13 Deuteronomy 2:24). The Jabbok (Zarqa) is frequently referred to, particularly in connection with Jacob (Genesis 32:22). The most frequent references are to the Jordan which, in time of flood, was impassable (Joshua 3:15).

The lower Jordan is about 100 ft. wide, and from 5 to 12 ft. deep, so that in the absence of bridges, the places where it was possible to ford were of great importance. The passage of the Jordan is referred to in connection with Jacob (Genesis 32:10), Gideon (Judges 8:4), the children of Ammon (Judges 10:9), Abner and his men (2 Samuel 2:29), David (2 Samuel 10:17; 2 Samuel 17:22), Absalom (2 Samuel 17:24), and others. Jesus undoubtedly crossed the Jordan, and John is thought to have baptized at the ford of the Jordan near Jericho. The fords of the Jordan are specifically mentioned in Joshua 2:7 in connection with the pursuit of the spies who were hidden in Rahab's house, and in 2 Samuel 15:28; 2 Samuel 17:16 in connection with the flight of David. In the last two passages we have abharah, the same word which, in the account of David's return (2 Samuel 19:18), is rendered "ferry-boat" (the Revised Version, margin "convoy").

See JORDAN.

Alfred Ely Day

Greek

4198. poreuomai -- to go
... Word Origin from poros (a ford, passage) Definition to go NASB Word Usage accompany*
(1), am on my way (1), depart (1), departed (1), departure (1), following ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4198.htm - 10k

Strong's Hebrew

4569. ma'abar -- a ford, pass, passing
ma'abar. 4568, 4569. ma'abar. 4569a . a ford, pass, passing. Transliteration:
ma'abar Phonetic Spelling: (mah-ab-awr') Short Definition: ford. ford, place ...
/hebrew/4569.htm - 5k

5679. abarah -- ford
... ford. Transliteration: abarah Phonetic Spelling: (ab-aw-raw') Short Definition:
ford. Word Origin from abar Definition ford NASB Word Usage ford (1), fords (1). ...
/hebrew/5679.htm - 6k

1012. Beth Barah -- "place of ford," a place in Palestine
... Beth Barah. 1013 . "place of ford," a place in Palestine. Transliteration: Beth
Barah Phonetic Spelling: (bayth baw-raw') Short Definition: Beth-barah. ...
/hebrew/1012.htm - 6k

4569a. maabar -- a ford, pass, passing
... 4569, 4569a. maabar. 4569b . a ford, pass, passing. Transliteration: maabar
Short Definition: blow. Word Origin from abar Definition ...
/hebrew/4569a.htm - 5k

4569b. mabarah -- a ford, pass, passage
... 4569a, 4569b. mabarah. 4570 . a ford, pass, passage. Transliteration: mabarah
Short Definition: fords. Word Origin from abar Definition ...
/hebrew/4569b.htm - 5k

5674a. abar -- to pass over, through, or by, pass on
... 1), drew across (1), drifting (1), enter (1), escapes the notice (1), ever bring
(1), ever bring...over (1), excel (1), fail (2), flood (1), ford (1), forded (1 ...
/hebrew/5674a.htm - 7k

8607. Tiphsach -- a place on the Euphrates
... Tipsah. From pacach; ford; Tiphsach, a place in Mesopotamia -- Tipsah. see HEBREW
pacach. 8606, 8607. Tiphsach. 8608 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8607.htm - 6k

Library

Prefatory Note
... In 1845 Richard Ford published his Hand-Book for Travellers in Spain and Readers
at Home [2 Vols.8vo.], a work which still commands attention, and the ...
/.../borrow/a supplementary chapter to the bible in spain/prefatory note.htm

Letter F
... Orin "Received 1821, Located 1824 * Foot, Reuben C. "Received 1836 * Forbes, William
J. "Received 1837 * Force, Manning "Received 1811 * Ford, Charles T ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bangs/an alphabetical list of m e preachers/letter f.htm

John's First Testimony to Jesus.
... variation in the manuscripts, we may read "Bethany" or "Bethabara," or even possibly
"Bethabara in Bathania." Tradition fixes upon the Jericho ford, which is ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xx johns first testimony to.htm

A Nation's Struggle for a Home and Freedom.
... silt. The other ford is six miles further north below the point where the
Wady Nimrin comes down from the highlands of Gilead. Here ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study xii a nations struggle.htm

The Life of Mr. John Semple.
... could hinder him in his purposes; for one time going to the presbytery of Kirkudbright,
twenty miles distant from Carsphairn, when about to ford the water of ...
/.../howie/biographia scoticana scots worthies/the life of mr john 9.htm

Jesus Baptized by John in the Jordan.
... a 13 Then} ^b it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came { ^a cometh} ^b from
Nazareth of Galilee, ^a to the Jordan [Tradition fixes upon a ford of Jordan ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xviii jesus baptized by john.htm

How Our People Served the Moabites Eighteen Years, and were Then ...
... The Israelites seized upon the ford of Jordan, and pursued them, and slew them,
and many of them they killed at the ford, nor did one of them escape out of ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 4 how our people.htm

The Witness of John.
... Bethany is said to mean "the house of the boat," and Bethabara "the house of the
ford," both alike pointing to a ferry or ford of the Jordan. ...
/.../johnson/the new testament commentary vol iii john/the witness of john.htm

The Perseverance of Faith
... Come with me up the river till we can find a place where we can ford it." Faith
said, "No; I was bidden to cross the river here." So another came, and said, "I ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 38 1892/the perseverance of faith.htm

A Supplementary Chapter to the Bible in Spain
... Title Page. A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. Inspired by FORD'S
"HAND-BOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN SPAIN.". BY GEORGE BORROW. ...
/.../borrow/a supplementary chapter to the bible in spain/title page.htm

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Mention is frequently made of the fords of the Jordan (Joshua 2:7; Judges 3:28; 12:5, 6), which must have been very numerous; about fifty perhaps. The most notable was that of Bethabara. Mention is also made of the ford of the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22), and of the fords of Arnon (Isaiah 16:2) and of the Euphrates (Jeremiah 51:32).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A place in a river, or other water, where it may be passed by man or beast on foot, by wading.

2. (n.) A stream; a current.

3. (v. t.) To pass or cross, as a river or other water, by wading; to wade through.

Thesaurus

Ford (3 Occurrences)
... Mention is also made of the ford of the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22), and of the fords
of Arnon (Isaiah 16:2) and of the Euphrates (Jeremiah 51:32). ...FORD. ...
/f/ford.htm - 11k

Bethabara (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary House of the ford, a place on the east bank of
the Jordan, where John was baptizing (John 1:28). It may ...
/b/bethabara.htm - 10k

Tiphsah (2 Occurrences)
... Passing over; ford, one of the boundaries of Solomon's dominions (1 Kings 4:24),
probably "Thapsacus, a great and wealthy town on the western bank of the ...
/t/tiphsah.htm - 9k

Jordan (188 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/j/jordan.htm - 70k

Pass (1172 Occurrences)
... road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous
or otherwise impracticable barrier; a passageway; a defile; a ford; as, a ...
/p/pass.htm - 44k

Sea (4178 Occurrences)
... In 1818 Irby and Mangles (Travels, 454) saw a company of Arabs ford the lake from
Point Molyneux to the west side, and noted that the line of the ford was ...
/s/sea.htm - 87k

Jabbok (7 Occurrences)
... The river is fordable at many points, save when in full flood. The particular ford
referred to in Genesis 32 cannot now be identified. W. Ewing. ...
/j/jabbok.htm - 11k

Passenger (1 Occurrence)
... The former word denotes (1) the ford of a river (Genesis 32:23 King James Version
margin); (2) the pass of a mountain range (1 Samuel 13:23). ...
/p/passenger.htm - 10k

Bethbarah (1 Occurrence)
... It was probably the chief ford of the Jordan in that district, and may have been
that by which Jacob crossed when he returned from Mesopotamia, near the Jabbok ...
/b/bethbarah.htm - 8k

Beth-barah (1 Occurrence)
... It was probably the chief ford of the Jordan in that district, and may have been
that by which Jacob crossed when he returned from Mesopotamia, near the Jabbok ...
/b/beth-barah.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Ford (3 Occurrences)

Genesis 32:22 He rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 19:18 And the ferryboat passed to and fro to bring over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, when he would go over the Jordan.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 47:5 And he measureth a thousand -- a stream that I am not able to pass over; for risen have the waters -- waters to swim in -- a stream that is not passed over.
(See NAS)

Subtopics

Ford

Related Terms

Bethabara (1 Occurrence)

Tiphsah (2 Occurrences)

Jordan (188 Occurrences)

Pass (1172 Occurrences)

Sea (4178 Occurrences)

Jabbok (7 Occurrences)

Passenger (1 Occurrence)

Bethbarah (1 Occurrence)

Beth-barah (1 Occurrence)