Jordan River

Jordan River (Heb. generally with article hayyarden, "the descender" ). The Jordan is first mentioned in the account of the separation of Abraham and Lot (Gen 13:10). Jacob also criss-crossed the Jordan river (Gen 32:10). The Jordan is mentioned about 180 times in the Old Testament and 15 times in the New Testament. The River flows through "the plain" (Josh 2:11), or the Plain of Jordan (I Kings 7:46). The Plain forms two shelves, with one above the other, the southern Plain was referred to the Bible as the Plains of Moab (Num 21:1) and the Plains of Jericho (Josh 4:13).

The Jordan River is formed by the merging of three streams at the base of Mount Hermon, in northern Golan Heights. It descends rapidly to the Huleh Valley, passing through a marshy plain before draining into the Lake Huleh, "the waters of Merom." At the treacherous marshes of Merom, Joshua and his troops gained the third and last great victory over the allied Canaanite forces of Jebusites, Amorites and Hittites (Jos 11:5-7; Ps 114:3). The lake Huleh cannot be seen today for it has been drained to provide a very fertile farmland. Between 1950 and 1958, c.12,350 acres (5,000 hectares) of the lake's swampy shore was further drained (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05).

From Lake Huleh the river drops over 250 meters over rocky banks and feeds the Sea of Galilee. From the Sea of Galilee, River Jordan continues south on a windy course for about 170 km into the Dead Sea, although the straight distance is about 100 km.
Geologically, the Golan Heights are a plateau. Historically, the Amorites occupied it during the 3rd millennium BCE, then the Arameans took over from the 2nd millennium. Later known as Bashan, the area was contested between Israel the northern kingdom and the Aramean kingdom in the southern Golan. In 854 B.C., when Ahab was king, Ben-hadad, King of Syria, attacked Israel. He thought that the God of Israel was "a god of the mountains." The Aramean forces outnumbered the Israelites . It was said that the Arameans filled the country, while the Israelite camps looked like two small flocks of goats (1 Kings 20:27). Despite being greatly outnumbered, Israel defeated the Arameans, killing 100,000 foot soldiers in one day (1 Kings 20:29). Some time between 790 and 782 B.C., King Jehoash of Israel defeated the Arameans, partially fulfilling Elisha's prophecy (2 Kings 13:17).

Two rivers from Gilead join Jordan River on the east. (1) The Yarmuk River or Wadi Mandhur formed the boundary between Bashan and Gilead. It drains the plateau of the Hauran. The Hauran ("caverns") is mentioned only twice in the Bible (Ezek 47:16,18). The Yarmuk River is about 6 km south of the Sea of Galilee. Not specifically named in the Bible, the river was located within the assigned territory of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. (2) The Jabbok River ("pouring out") or Wadi Zerka (or blue river) enters the Jordan River about 32 km north of Jericho. It was the boundary between the territory of the Ammonites and that of Og, king of Bashan (Jos 12:1-5; Nu 21:24), also between the tribe of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh (Nu 21:24; De 3:16).

The Jordan River parted miraculously for the crossing of the Israelites into the promised land (Josh 3:15,16). After the twelve tribes had settled in Canaan, the river separated

the eastern tribes of Israel from the western tribes (Judge 5:17). Both Elijah and Elisah performed miracles at the Jordan River (II Kings 2:8, 13-14). Naaman the Leper, the captain of the armies of Syria dipped seven times in the Jordan River to be cleansed of his leprosy (II Kings 5:14).


John the Baptist baptised the repentant Jews in the river Jordan in preparation for the coming of the Messiah (Mark 1:9-11, Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 3:21-Luke 3:22, and John 1:29-34).

Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist in Bethany beyond the river Jordan (John 1:28). John 10:40 mentions Jesus' escaping Jerusalem and going "away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized ..."
One possible site of Bethany beyond the Jordan is on east bank the Jordan. At Tell al-Kharrar, the main mound has been called Elijah's Hill, Tell Mar Elias in Arabic. This was supposedly the place from where the Prophet Elijah ascended to heaven (2 Kings 2:5-14). Today the area is called Al-Maghtas, "the place of baptism" or "of immersion."

Along the banks of Jordan River are reeds. The reed or cane (Greek "kanon") is straight. It is also ruled or measured. It time the word canon came to be used as the authoritative rule of faith and practice, the standard of doctrine and duty.
The Jordan River exists because The Jordan Valley exists. The Jordan Valley marks the joint of a great tectonic-plate fault. It runs through the entire land of Israel under the Jordan River, straight through the Red Sea. The entire Arab peninsula is surrounded by fault lines. The black lines show some of the major known joint boundaries. The Bible warns of a great earthquake that will strike Israel, such as never has occurred before (Zechariah 14:3-5).