Jordan

the river of judgment

Jordan

(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. Judg 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 4:12,13) 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 Christ's 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 PALESTINA AND PALESTINE.

Jordan

The chief river of Palestine, running from north to south, and dividing the Holy Land into two parts, of which the larger and more important lay on the west. There are two small streams, each of which claims to be its source. One of these, near Banias, anciently Caesarea Philippi, issues from a large cave in a rocky mountain side, and flows several miles towards the south-west, where it is joined by the second and larger stream, which originates in a fountain at Tellel-Kady, three miles west of Banias. But besides these, there is a third and longer stream, which rises beyond the northern limit of Palestine, near Hasbeia on the west side of mount Hermon, flows twenty-four miles to the south, and unites with the other streams before they enter the "waters of Merom," now lake Huleh, the Jordan flows about nine miles south-ward to the sea of Tiberias, through which its clear and smooth course may be traced twelve miles to the lower end. Hence it pursues its sinuous way to the south, till its pure waters are lost in the bitter sea of Sodom.

Between these two seas, that of Tiberias and the Dead Sea, lies the great valley or plain of the Jordan, 2 Kings 25:4 2 Chronicles 4:17. It is called by the Arabs El-Ghor. Its average width is about five miles, but near Jericho it is twelve or fifteen miles. It is terminated on both sides, through its whole length, by hills, which rise abruptly on the western border 1,000 or 1,200 feet high, and more gradually on the east, but twice as high. This valley is excessively not, and except where watered by fountains or rivulets, is sandy and destitute of foliage. It is covered in many parts with innumerable cone-like mounds, and sometimes contains a lower and narrow terrace of similar character, perhaps an eighth of a mile wide. Through this valley the river takes its serpentine course in a channel from fifteen to fifty feet below the general level. Its immediate banks are thickly covered with trees and shrubs, such as the willow, tamarisk, and oleander; and often recede, and leave a larger space for vegetation. In the lower Jordan, the stream is bordered by numerous canebrakes. The thickets adjoining the river were formerly the retreat of wild beasts, which of course would be driven out by a freshet; hence the figure, "He shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan," Jeremiah 49:19 50:44. The channel of the river may be deeper sunk than of old, but even now not only the intervales within the banks are overflowed in spring, but in many places the banks themselves, 1 Chronicles 12:15. Lieutenant Lynch of the United States navy, who traversed the Jordan in 1848, ascertained that, although the distance from the sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is but sixty miles in a straight line, it is two hundred miles by the course of the river, which has innumerable curves. Its width varies at different points from seventy-five to two hundred feet, and its depth from three to twelve feet. Its volume of water differs exceedingly at different seasons and from year to year. The current is usually swift and strong; and there are numerous rapids and falls, of which no less than twenty-seven are specified by Lieutenant Lynch as dangerous even to his metallic boats. The sea of Tiberias lies 312 (according to Lynch, 653) feet below the level of the Mediterranean, and the Dead Sea 1,316 feet; hence the fall of the Jordan between the two seas is 1,000 feet. The waters of the Jordan are cool and soft, and like the Sea of Galilee, it abounds in fish. It is crossed by a stone bridge, below Lake Huleh, (see GESHUR, GESHURI, GESHURITES;) and the fragments of another, just south of the Sea of Tiberias, still remain. Several fords, available in ordinary season, are mentioned in Scripture, Jud 3:28 12:5 2 Samuel 17:22-24. Ferryboats were also used, 2 Samuel 19:17,18,39. See SEA 4.

It was during the annual "swelling of the Jordan" that Joshua and the Israelites crossed it, Joshua 3:15. Yet the swift and swollen current was arrested in its course, opposite to Jericho; and while the waters below the city rolled on to the4 sea, those above it were miraculously stayed, and left in the river bed a wide passage for the hosts of Israel. Twice afterwards the Jordan was miraculously crossed, by Elijah and Elisha, 2 Kings 5:14 6:6. Here, too, our Savior was baptized, Matthew 3:13; and this event is commemorated, in the middle of April of each year, by thousands of pilgrims of various sects of nominal Christians, who on a given day, and under the protection of a strong Turkish escort, visit the sacred river, drink and bathe in its waters, and after an hour or two return to Jerusalem.

The principal branches of the Jordan are the Yermak, anciently Hieroma, a large stream, and the Jabbok, both on the east. There are several small rivulets and many mountain brooks, which dry up more or less early in the summer. The phrase, "beyond Jordan," usually indicates the east side of the river, but before the conquest by Joshua it meant the west side.

At the present day, the Jordan is lost in the Dead sea; but many have supposed that in very ancient times, before the destruction of the cities in the vale of Sodom, the Jordan passed through the Dead Sea and the vale of Siddim, and continued its course southward to the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea. The southern end of the Dead Sea is found to be connected with the Elanitic gulf, or gulf of Akaba, by the great valley, called El-Arabah, forming a prolongation of El-Ghor, the valley of the Jordan. See map in EXODUS. The course of this valley is between south and south-southwest. Its length, from the Dead Sea to Akaba, is about one hundred miles in a direct line. From the extremity of the Dead Sea, a sandy plain extends southward between hills, and on a level with the sea, for the distance of eight or ten miles, where it is interrupted by a chalky cliff, from sixty to eighty feet high, which runs nearly across the valley, but leaves at its western end the opening of a valley nearly half a mile wide, which runs up for many miles to the south within the broad and desert valley El-Arabah, upon which it at length emerges, and the water of which it conveys to the Dead Sea. The cliff above referred to, probably the Akrabbim of the Bible, marks the termination of El-Ghor and the commencement of El-Arabah, which is thence prolonged without interruption to Akaba. It is skirted on each side by a chain of mountains; but the streams which descend from these, are in summer lost in their gravelly beds before they reach the valley below; so that this lower plain is in summer entirely without water, which alone can produce verdure in the Arabian deserts and render them habitable. There is not the slightest appearance of a road, or of any other work of human art, in any part of the valley. The opinion that the Jordan formerly traversed this great valley is rendered untenable by the fact that the Dead Sea lies nearly 1,300 feet lower than the Gulf of Akaba, and that most of the intervening region now pours its streams north into the Dead Sea. Of course the Jordan must also have stopped there of old, as it does now, unless, according to the somewhat startling theory of Lieutenant Lynch and others, the Dead sea-and with it, though less deeply, the whole valley to the north and south-sunk down from a higher level into its present deep chasm, perhaps long before that appalling catastrophe from which Lot found refuge in "the mountain," Genesis 19:17-28,30. See SEA3

Hebrews 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.

(1.) 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.

(2.) 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).

(3.) 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" (32:10). The Israelites passed over it as "on dry ground" (Joshua 3:17; Psalm 114:3). Twice afterwards its waters were miraculously divided at the same spot by Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:8, 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).

(n.) Alt. of Jorden.JORDAN

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

JORDAN VALLEY

1. Physical Peculiarities:

As more fully detailed elsewhere (see ARABAH; DEAD SEA; GEOLOGY OF PALESTINE), the Jordan valley in its lower portion occupies a remarkable depression in the earth's surface, reaching its greatest depth in the Dead Sea, the surface of which is 1,300 ft., the bottom 2,600 ft. below tide level, the portion of the basin below the level of the sea being about 100 miles in length and from 10 to 15 miles in breadth at base, and from two to three times that distance between the bordering summits of the mountains and plateaus on either side. In the early prehistoric period, corresponding with the Glacial epoch, this depression was filled with water to a height of 1,400 ft. (see references above) which gradually disappeared by evaporation as present climatic conditions came on. At an elevation of approximately 650 ft. above the Dead Sea, very extensive sedimentary deposits were made, which, while appearing only in fragments along the shores of the Dead Sea, are continuous over the bottom of the valley (the so-called Ghor), farther North. These deposits are from 100 to 200 ft. thick, consisting of material which was brought down into the valley by the tributary mountain streams descending from each side, while the water stood at this higher level. Naturally these deposits slope gradually from the sides of the valley toward the center, the coarser material of the deposits being nearer the sides, and the amount of sediment being much increased opposite the mouths of the larger streams. The deposit was at first continuous over the entire Ghor, or valley, but has since been much dissected by the Jordan river and its tributaries. The Jordan itself has eroded a channel through the soft sediment, 100 ft. more or less deep, from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea, a distance in a straight line of about 70 miles. At first this channel was narrow, but it has been constantly enlarged by the stream as it has meandered from side to side, undercutting the banks so that they cave into the river and are washed down to fill up the Dead Sea, a process which is especially familiar to residents upon the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. This narrow gorge is called the Zor, and will hereafter be referred to under this name. The Zor at present averages about 1/2 mile wide, the most of which is occupied by a flood plain extending from the banks of the river to the foot of the sedimentary bluffs on either side. This flood plain is so overgrown with brush and reeds that it is practically impenetrable, except by wild beasts, which, according to Scriptural references, have infested it from earliest times, among which may be mentioned the lion, the tiger, the wild boar. During the spring months, when the snows are melting from Mt. Hermon and cloudbursts are sending sudden torrents of water down the river courses from the plateau of Gilead and the mountains of Samaria, the Jordan "overflows all its banks," i.e. covers this flood plain and drives out the beasts to infest the neighborhood for a short time.

The surface of this old lake bed has also been much dissected by the tributary streams which come in from either side, they having cut channels across the Ghor down to a depth corresponding to that of the Zor. As a consequence the roads leading up the valley find it necessary to hug the base of the mountains on either side to avoid the abrupt descent into the channels of the tributary streams, which are deepest near their mouths. Another natural consequence of these physical peculiarities is that agriculture cannot be carried on except as water to irrigate the level surfaces of the Ghor is carried out from the higher levels of the perennial streams. There are many remains of such aqueducts for irrigation constructed in early times. These are now almost all in ruins and unused. Merrill, however, estimates that 200 square miles of the Jordan valley, over which the surface is as level as a prairie, and as free from stones, could be irrigated at the present time and made as fruitful as the valley of the Nile. But from time immemorial settled agriculture in the Ghor has been rendered precarious by the incursions of the nomadic tribes, who periodically come down from the desert regions on the East.

2. Descriptions:

Two descriptions (the first from my own journal) of the general views obtained of the Jordan valley from adjoining elevated points will give vividness to our conceptions of this remarkable depression.

"It was the middle of December when, after wading all day across the southern flanks of Mt. Hermon, through snow knee-deep for our horses, we descended below the clouds and the snow to the brink of the eastern mountain wall overlooking the upper valley of the Jordan. It was a sight ever to be remembered, with the glistering peak of Mt. Hermon to our right, and the jagged walls of the borders of Naphtali stretching across the horizon on the West, only a few miles away, while between and at our feet were the green fields of the upper Jordan valley, through which ran the silver thread of the river, broadening out into the expanded waters of Lake Merom. Over the plain could dimly be seen the black tents of the Arabs, and the husbandmen plowing the fields for an early harvest. No wonder the spies were impressed with the attractiveness and fertility of the region." This of the upper Jordan valley.

Dr. Merrill gives the following description of the view of the lower Jordan valley from the summit of Kurn Surtabeh, March 23: "Jebel esh Sheikh (Mt. Hermon) was covered with snow, and so was the Lebanon range farther to the West and North. Lake Merom and the volcanic peaks on the plain to the East of it and South of Hermon were distinctly seen, likewise the Sea of Galilee, the hills about Safed, the hills West of Tiberias and the slope from their summit, which inclines toward Mt. Tabor; also Gamala and Gadara, all the range of Jebel `Ajlun or hills of Gilead, Kulat er Rubad, Jebel Meisera and Jebel Osha, the mountains of Moab, and the Dead Sea. But the mere naming of different points that can be seen gives no adequate idea of the extent and magnificence of the prospect which one enjoys from the top of this strange landmark. Hills to the West obstruct the view in that direction, and to the East nothing can be seen beyond the highest part of the Moab and Gilead ranges, but it is the north-and-south sweep which makes the prospect a glorious one. No language can picture correctly the Jordan valley, the winding stream, the jungles on its banks, the strange Ghor with its white, ragged sides, the vast plain of the valley, through and in the middle of which the lower Ghor (the Zor) is sunk, the dense green oases formed here and there by some mountain stream, and the still, lifeless sea, as bright and motionless as molten lead, lying far to the South, ending the great valley and touching the mountains on either side! This is an outline merely, but I cannot summon to my aid words which will describe it more accurately. The Jordan valley or Ghor, in front of Surtabeh, is about 8 miles wide, and looks like a vast plain. The lower Ghor (Zor) is the ragged channel cut down along the middle of the large one. This distinction of the upper and lower Ghor is by no means so strikingly defined above the mouth of the Zerka as it is below that point, and all the way thence to the Dead Sea."

3. Division into Eight Sections:

Considered in detail the valley may be divided, as Conder suggests, into 8 sections. "First the portion between Banias and the Huleh, where it is some 5 miles broad, with steep cliffs some 2,000 ft. high on either side and a broad marsh between. Secondly, from the Huleh to the Sea of Galilee, where the stream runs close to the eastern hills, and about 4 miles from the base of those on the West, which rise toward the high Safed mountains, more than 3,500 ft. above the lake. Thirdly, for 13 miles from the South end of the Sea of Galilee to the neighborhood of Beisan. Here the valley is only 1 1/2 miles broad West of the river, and about 3 on the East, the steep cliffs of the plateau of Kaukab el Hawa on the West reaching an altitude of 1,800 ft. above the stream.

"South of Beisan is the 4th district, with a plain West of Jordan, 12 miles long and 6 miles broad, the line of hills on the East being straight, and the foot of the mountains on this side about 2 miles from the river. In the neighborhood of Beisan, the cross-section of the plain shows 3 levels: that of the shelf on which Beisan stands, about 300 ft. below sea-level; that of the Ghor itself, some 400 ft. lower, reached by an almost precipitous descent; and that of the Zor, or narrow trench, from a half to a quarter of a mile wide, and about 150 ft. lower still. The higher shelf extends westward to the foot of Gilboa; it dies away on the South, but on the North it gradually rises into the plateau of Kaukab and to the western table-land above the sea of Galilee, 1,800 ft. above Jordan.

"After leaving the Beisan plain, the river passes through a narrow valley 12 miles long and 2 or 3 miles wide, with a raised table-land to the West, having a level averaging about 500 ft. above the sea. The Beisan plain is full of springs of fresh water, some of which are thermal, but a large current of salt warm water flows down Wady Maleh, at the northern extremity of this 5th district.

"In the 6th district, the Damieh region, the valley again opens to a width of about 3 miles on the West, and 5 on the East of J. The great block of the Kurn Surtubeh here stands out like a bastion, on the West, 2,400 ft. above the river. Passing this mountain, the 7th district is entered-a broad valley extending from near Fusail to `Osh el Ghurab, North of Jericho. In this region the Ghor itself is 5 miles broad, West of the river, and rather more on the East. The lower trench or Zor is also wider here and more distinctly separated from the Ghor. A curious geographical feature of this region was also discovered by the Survey party. The great affluents of the Far'ah and `Aujeh do not flow straight to Jordan, but turn South about a mile West of it, and each runs, for about 6 miles, nearly parallel with the river; thus the mouth of the Far'ah is actually to be found just where that of the next valley is shown on most maps.

"The 8th and last district is that of the plain of Jericho, which, with the corresponding basin (Ghor-es-Seiseban) East of Jordan, measures over 8 miles North and South, and more than 14 across, with Jordan about in the middle. The Zor is here about a mile wide, and some 200 ft. below the broad plain of the Ghor."

4. Climate Fauna and Flora:

Owing to its depression below sea-level the climate of the lower Jordan valley is even more than tropical. In the summer months thermometer scarcely falls below 100 degrees F., even in the night; but during the winter months, though the days are hot, thermometer frequently goes down to 40 degrees in the night time.

The fauna of this part of the Jordan valley and about the Dead Sea is said by Tristram (SWP, "Fauna and Flora") to be identical with that now existing in Ethiopia. Of the mammalia characteristic of this general region, 34 are Ethiopian and 16 Indian, though there is now no possible connection with either Ethiopia or India. The fish of the Jordan show close affinity to many species of the Nile and of the lakes and rivers of tropical Africa. Many species of birds, also, now confined to the lower basin and the Dead Sea, are related to Ethiopian and Indian species.

The flora is equally interesting. Out of 162 species of plants found at the Southwest corner of the Dead Sea, 135 species are African in their affinity. In the marshes of Lake Huleh, many acres are covered with the papyrus plant, which became extinct in Egypt long ago, and is now found in Africa only in the Upper Nile beyond the 7th degree of North latitude. The most common trees and plants of the Jordan valley are the castor-oil plant and the oleander, flourishing especially about Jericho, several varieties of the acacia tree, the caper plant, the Dead Sea apple (Solanum Sodomaeum) the oser tree of the Arabs, tamarisks, Agnus casti (a flowering bamboo), Balanites Aegyptiaca (supposed to be the balm of Gilead), Populus Euphratica (a plant found all over Central Asia but not West of the Jordan), and many tropical plants, among which may be mentioned Zygophyllum coccineum, Boerhavia, Indigofera, several Astragali, Cassias, Gymnocarpum, and Nitraria.

George Frederick Wright

JUDAH AT (UPON) THE JORDAN

(yehudhah ha-yarden): A place marking the eastern limit of the territory of Naphtali (Joshua 19:34). It is generally thought among scholars that the text is corrupt; but no very probable emendation has been suggested. Thomson (L B, II, 466) proposes to identify it with Seiyid Jehuda, a small white-domed sanctuary about 3 miles to the Southeast of Tell el-Qady.

VALLEY, JORDAN

See JORDAN VALLEY.

2446. Iordanes -- the Jordan, the largest river of Pal.
... 2445, 2446. Iordanes. 2447 . the Jordan, the largest river of Pal. ... Word Origin
of Hebrew origin Yarden Definition the Jordan, the largest river of Pal. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2446.htm - 6k

137. Ainon -- Aenon, a place in the Jordan Valley
... Aenon, a place in the Jordan Valley. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable
Transliteration: Ainon Phonetic Spelling: (ahee-nohn') Short Definition: Aenon ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/137.htm - 6k

4670. Sodoma -- Sodom, an unidentified city in the Jordan Valley
... Sodom, an unidentified city in the Jordan Valley. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: Sodoma Phonetic Spelling: (sod'-om-ah) Short Definition: Sodom ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4670.htm - 6k

1179. Dekapolis -- Decapolis, a region East of the Jordan
... Decapolis, a region East of the Jordan. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
Dekapolis Phonetic Spelling: (dek-ap'-ol-is) Short Definition: Decapolis ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1179.htm - 6k

1086. Gerasenos -- Gerasene, of Gerasa, a city East of the Jordan
... Gerasene, of Gerasa, a city East of the Jordan. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: Gerasenos Phonetic Spelling: (gher-ghes-ay-nos') Short ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1086.htm - 6k

5477. Chanaan -- Canaan, earlier name of Pal.
... Chanaan Phonetic Spelling: (khan-ah-an') Short Definition: Canaan Definition: Canaan,
the whole of Palestine or Palestine west of the river Jordan. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5477.htm - 6k

966. Bethsaida -- "house of fish," Bethsaida, the name of two ...
... Bethsaida Phonetic Spelling: (bayth-sahee-dah') Short Definition: Bethsaida Definition:
Bethsaida, (a) a city of Galilee, (b) a city east of the Jordan. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/966.htm - 6k

1046. Gadarenos -- of Gadara, Gadarene
... Gadarene. From Gadara (a town east of the Jordan); a Gadarene or inhabitant of Gadara --
Gadarene. (gadarenon) -- 1 Occurrence. (gerasenon) -- 3 Occurrences. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1046.htm - 6k

962. Bethabara -- Bethabara.
... Bethabara. Of Hebrew origin (bayith and abarah); ferry-house; Bethabara (ie
Bethabarah), a place on the Jordan -- Bethabara. see HEBREW bayith. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/962.htm - 6k

963. Bethania -- "house of affliction" or "house of dates ...
... Spelling: (bay-than-ee'-ah) Short Definition: Bethany Definition: (a) Bethany, the
home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, near Jerusalem, (b) Bethany, beyond Jordan ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/963.htm - 6k

7433. Ramoth Gilad -- a city East of the Jordan
... a city East of the Jordan. Transliteration: Ramoth Gilad or Ramoth Gilad Phonetic
Spelling: (raw-moth') Short Definition: Ramoth-gilead. ...
/hebrew/7433.htm - 6k

1020. Beth Hayshimoth -- "place of the desert," a place East of ...
Beth Hayshimoth. 1019, 1020. Beth Hayshimoth. 1021 . "place of the desert,"
a place East of the Jordan in Moab. Transliteration: Beth Hayshimoth Phonetic ...
/hebrew/1020.htm - 6k

1047. Beth Peor -- "house of Peor," a place East of the Jordan
... Beth Peor. 1048 . "house of Peor," a place East of the Jordan. Transliteration:
Beth Peor Phonetic Spelling: (bayth pe-ore') Short Definition: Beth-peor. ...
/hebrew/1047.htm - 6k

2809. Cheshbon -- a place East of the Jordan
... 2808, 2809. Cheshbon. 2810 . a place East of the Jordan. Transliteration: Cheshbon
Phonetic Spelling: (khesh-bone') Short Definition: Heshbon. ...
/hebrew/2809.htm - 6k

5247. Nimrah -- "place of leopard," a place East of the Jordan
... 5246, 5247. Nimrah. 5248 . "place of leopard," a place East of the Jordan.
Transliteration: Nimrah Phonetic Spelling: (nim-raw') Short Definition: Nimrah. ...
/hebrew/5247.htm - 6k

7741. Shaveh Qiryathayim -- a plain East of the Jordan
... a plain East of the Jordan. Transliteration: Shaveh Qiryathayim Phonetic Spelling:
(shaw-vay' kir-yaw-thah'-yim) Short Definition: Shaveh-kiriathaim. ...
/hebrew/7741.htm - 6k

1474. Golan -- a city and a region East of the Jordan in Manasseh
... 1473, 1474. Golan. 1475 . a city and a region East of the Jordan in Manasseh.
Transliteration: Golan Phonetic Spelling: (go-lawn') Short Definition: Golan. ...
/hebrew/1474.htm - 6k

6255. Ashteroth Qarnayim -- "Ashtaroth of the double horns," a ...
Ashteroth Qarnayim. 6254, 6255. Ashteroth Qarnayim. 6256 . "Ashtaroth of the
double horns," a place East of the Jordan. Transliteration: Ashteroth Qarnayim ...
/hebrew/6255.htm - 6k

1316. Bashan -- "smooth," a region East of the Jordan
... 1315, 1316. Bashan. 1317 . "smooth," a region East of the Jordan. Transliteration:
Bashan Phonetic Spelling: (baw-shawn') Short Definition: Bashan. ...
/hebrew/1316.htm - 6k

1194. Beon -- a place East of the Jordan
... 1193, 1194. Beon. 1195 . a place East of the Jordan. Transliteration: Beon
Phonetic Spelling: (beh-ohn') Short Definition: Beon. Word Origin probably a short ...
/hebrew/1194.htm - 6k

The Passage of the Jordan.
... THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. Having wandered for forty years in the wilderness, the
Israelites drew near to the river Jordan, at a place opposite Jericho. ...
/.../anonymous/mother stories from the old testament/the passage of the jordan.htm

The Swelling of Jordan
... THE SWELLING OF JORDAN. TEXT: "How wilt thou do in the swelling of
Jordan?""Jer.12:5. High up in the mountains of Anti-Lebanon ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chapman/and judas iscariot/the swelling of jordan.htm

At the Jordan
... Mark CHAPTER 1:7-11 AT THE JORDAN. ... And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus
came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 1 7-11 at the jordan.htm

Pamias. Paneas, the Spring of Jordan.
... Chapters 61-70 Chapter 67 Pamias. Paneas, the spring of Jordan. ... There is indeed
mention in Josephus of little Jordan and great Jordan. ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 67 pamias paneas the.htm

A Friend in Jordan.
... FAVOURITE WELSH HYMNS. JESUS. VII. A FRIEND IN JORDAN. Yn y dyfroedd mawr a'r tonau
8,7,8,7,8,7,8,7. Who amid the swelling billows. Can sustain my sinking head? ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/morris/favourite welsh hymns/vii a friend in jordan.htm

Naaman the Syrian and the Jordan. No Other Stream Has the Same ...
... Sixth Book. 28. Naaman the Syrian and the Jordan. No Other Stream Has the
Same Healing Power. Should any one object to the expression ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of john/28 naaman the syrian and.htm

At the Jordan Cont.
... Strong Meat for Hungry Souls: The Gospel of St. Mark CHAPTER 1:7-11 AT THE
JORDAN cont. Now it is to be observed that we never read ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 1 7-11 at the jordan 2.htm

The Jordan: the Decisive Start. Matthew 3:13-17. Mark 1:9-1Luke
... III. The Great Experiences of Jesus' Life. 1. The Jordan: The Decisive Start.
Matthew 3:13-17. Mark 1:9-11. Luke. 3:21-22. The Anvil ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks about jesus/1 the jordan the decisive.htm

Of Elijah and Elisha Crossing the Jordan.
... Sixth Book. 27. Of Elijah and Elisha Crossing the Jordan. Another point
which we must not fail to notice is that when Elijah was ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of john/27 of elijah and elisha.htm

Perea. Beyond Jordan.
... Chapters 91-100 Chapter 91 Perea. Beyond Jordan. "The length of Perea was from
Macherus to Pella: the breadth from Philadelphia to Jordan." ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 91 perea beyond jordan.htm

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

Jordan's (4 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Jordan's (4 Occurrences). Joshua 3:8 And thou
shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant ...
/j/jordan's.htm - 7k

Plains (31 Occurrences)
... Numbers 22:1 The children of Israel traveled, and encamped in the plains of Moab
beyond the Jordan at Jericho. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/p/plains.htm - 16k

Swelling (14 Occurrences)
... Of Jordan (Jeremiah 12:5), literally the "pride" of Jordan (as in RV), ie, the
luxuriant thickets of tamarisks, poplars, reeds, etc., which were the lair of ...
/s/swelling.htm - 13k

Crossing (26 Occurrences)
... 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon
utterly perish from off the land whereunto you go over the Jordan to possess ...
/c/crossing.htm - 14k

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

Abarim (8 Occurrences)
... Regions beyond; ie, on the east of Jordan, a mountain, or rather a mountain-chain,
over against Jericho, to the east and south-east of the Dead Sea, in the ...
/a/abarim.htm - 12k

Abel-shittim (1 Occurrence)
... Meadow of the acacias, frequently called simply "Shittim" (Numbers 25:1; Joshua
2:1; Micah 6:5), a place on the east of Jordan, in the plain of Moab, nearly ...
/a/abel-shittim.htm - 10k

Abelshittim (1 Occurrence)
... Meadow of the acacias, frequently called simply "Shittim" (Numbers 25:1; Joshua
2:1; Micah 6:5), a place on the east of Jordan, in the plain of Moab, nearly ...
/a/abelshittim.htm - 10k

What is the significance of the Jordan River in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Why did Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh want to live on the east of the Jordan? | GotQuestions.org

What was the significance of the Jordan crossing? | GotQuestions.org

Jordan: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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