Location and Setting
- The Jordan River is Palestine’s only large flowing body of water. It begins in the
north at Mount Hermon and flows south through Lake Huleh (now drained), the Sea of
Galilee, and the tropical Jordan valley, terminating at the Dead Sea.
- The name, Jordan, means "flowing downward" or "the descender." It
descends 689 feet from Lake Huleh to the Sea of Galilee and then another 610 feet from
Galilee to the Dead Sea.
- The straight-line length of the river measures just over seventy miles. When all the
serpentine curves are taken into account, however, its overall actual length measures two
hundred miles. The width of the Jordan varies from ninety to one hundred feet, while its
depth measures three to ten feet.
- Four streams form the source of the Jordan near Mount Hermon. Nahr Banias at Caesarea
Philippi is the easternmost contributor. It merges with the Nahr el-Leddan, which begins
near the ancient city of Dan. On the western side of Hermon, the Nahr Hasbani and the Nahr
Bareighit flow together shortly before they merge with the others.
- Other major tributaries that contribute to the Jordan include: the Yarmuk, which joins
it five miles south of the Sea of Galilee; the Wadi Bira and the Wadi Arab, entering the
Jordan from opposite directions at approximately the same point, four miles below the
Yarmuk; the Wadi Tayibeh; the Wadi Yabis; and the Jabbok that enters the Jordan about
forty miles south of the Sea of Galilee.
- The Jordan Valley is home to many forms of life. Of the thirty species of fish found in
the river, sixteen are unique to the Jordan. Additionally, twenty-three of the forty-five
species of birds in the Jordan area can be found nowhere else.
Historical and Biblical Significance 
- After Moses’ death, Joshua assumed leadership of the Israelites and prepared them
to cross the Jordan. When the priests carrying the Ark of Covenant stepped into the water,
God miraculously blocked the flow of the river at Adam, near the Jabbok-Wadi Fari’a
crossing, allowing all the people to pass through it on dry ground (Joshua 3).
- The prophet Elisha commanded the Syrian general, Naaman, to wash in the Jordan River
seven times to be healed of his leprosy. At first, Naaman rejected this directive,
considering it foolish. When he finally obeyed, God healed him (2 Kgs 5:10-14).
- Elisha performed another miracle in the Jordan, causing an iron ax head to float after
it had fallen from its handle into the water (2 Kgs 6:1-7).
- John the Baptist came out of the wilderness and began preaching and baptizing in the
Jordan River area (Matt 3:5,6; Mark 1:5; John 1:28; 3:26). John also baptized Jesus in the
Jordan as He began his public ministry (Matt 3:13; Mark 1:9; Luke 4:1).
- Jewish residents of Nazareth and western Galilee usually avoided passing through Samaria
as they traveled to Jerusalem. They crossed to the eastern side of the Jordan near
Scythopolis and returned to the western side of the Jordan at the Jericho ford. Jesus
probably traveled this route many times.
Bibliography
- Alden, R.L. "Jordan" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible.
Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
- Tenney, Merrill C. ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1967.
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