OVERVIEW
The Jordan River lies in the bottom of a great canyon called the Jordan Rift, an elongated depression stretching from lower southwest Asia Minor (Syria) to the Gulf of Aqaba. The rift was once filled by the Lisan Lake, but geologic activity caused it to recede, and the result was the formation of three separate bodies of water: the Huleh Lake, the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea. To this day each of these are fed by the Jordan River, the stream whose name in Hebrew means “the descender.”
SOURCES
Originating at the northern end of the Huleh Basin, the river comprises four separate streams: Bereighith, Hasbani, el-Liddani, and Baniyas. In the northwest corner of the Huleh Valley, the Bereighith emerges within the area of Merj Ayoun, flowing from a spring located on a modest knoll west of Mount Hermon. Slightly to the east is the Hasbani, a stream that descends from a spring 1,700 feet above sea level and follows a course of about 24 miles. These two smaller streams merge less than a mile above where they merge with the el-Liddani and the Baniyas. The el-Liddani is located near Tel el-Qadi (the biblical city of Dan). The most powerful stream of the four, it is fed by ‘Ain Leddan, a spring that is nestled among thick underbrush and is fed by the melting snows off Mount Hermon. Flowing quickly and briefly, the el-Liddani rushes to meet the Baniyas, the last of the four streams. In the northeast corner of the Huleh Valley, at the New Testament site of Caesarea Philippi, the Baniyas originates from a cave approximately 1,100 feet above sea level and follows a steep descent before it joins with the others. These four streams, making up the Jordan River, flow together along a southerly course of 10 miles before entering Huleh Lake.
COURSE AND CHARACTER OF THE RIVER
The course of the Jordan follows a north-south route through the Great Rift, descending gradually from the Huleh Lake (7 feet above sea level) to the Dead Sea (1,274 feet below sea level). From the Huleh Lake the river follows a 20-mile course, passing through the basaltic lip that forms the southern dam of the Huleh Basin and descends quickly to the Sea of Galilee (685 feet below sea level). To the south lies the Dead Sea at a distance of approximately 65 miles. The river that connects these two seas, however, travels a circuitous route of 200 miles, following a snakelike riverbed cut through the Ghor, the canyon floor.
The Jordan has many tributaries, but not all of them are consistent. If there is no consistent water source, such as a spring at the head of the riverbed, then these V-shaped watercourses remain dry until a seasonal deluge. When the rain comes, these dry, narrow courses are filled with fast-paced streams that flow off the sides of the canyon into the Jordan River. North of the Sea of Galilee four major systems feed the system in the Huleh Basin: Dishon and Hazor on the west, and Shuah and Gilbon on the east.
Just south of the Sea of Galilee are fields that can be cultivated without irrigation, which permits occupation and settlement. Farther south of this and farther below sea level, the terrain and climate change. Here the floor consistently approaches 1,000 feet below sea level and the climatic conditions are desert-like. In this dry and desolate region, the river is more of a lifeline to the flora and the fauna that hug its banks. It has become a veritable stream in the desert. The dense foliage on the banks of the Jordan is still today a wildlife haunt as it was in antiquity, the low-lying shrubs and the tamarisk alike providing thick ground cover. This lower section of the canyon, called the Zor, is separated by the qattara (a sedimentary deposit of grayish-white clays that form precipitous and barren slopes) from the canyon floor above. Generally inaccessible and extremely dangerous, the Zor and qattara form a natural barrier between Cis-Jordan (west) and Transjordan (east). Trade, settlement, and travel were necessarily affected by the topography of the area.
BIBLICAL EVENTS
The Old Testament Israelites passed across the Jordan River when they entered the Promised Land of Canaan (Joshua 3:14-17). The fords of the Jordan were the sites of conflict in the war of Jephthah and the Gileadites against the Ephraimites (Judges 12:1-6). The prophet Elijah sought refuge from Ahab king of Israel by the brook of Kerith east of the Jordan (1 Kings 17:1-5). Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind after having crossed the Jordan with Elisha on dry ground (2 Kings 2:6-12). Naaman, the Syrian general, bathed in the Jordan at the command of Elisha and his leprosy was healed (2 Kings 5:8-14). Elisha made the ax head float here (2 Kings 6:1-7). In the New Testament, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17). Peter confessed that Jesus was the “Christ, the Son of the living God” at Caesarea Philippi-located on one of the sources of the Jordan, Baniyas (Matthew 16:13-20). Jesus healed two blind men at Jericho, which is near the Jordan (Matthew 20:29-34) and visited with Zacchaeus in that same city (Luke 19:1-10).
Who?
Who crossed the Jordan River? The Israelites crossed the Jordan River in 1406 B.C.
What?
What is the river like? The Jordan River is made up of four streams and has many inconsistent tributaries. The Jordan River is 24 miles long and feeds the Dead Sea, as well as several other bodies of water.
When?
When did Jesus’ ministry begin? Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River marked the beginning of his ministry when He was 30 years old.
Where?
Where is the River located now? The Jordan River is the border between the nations of Jordan and Israel.
How?
God helped the Israelites cross the Jordan by miraculously holding back the waters so the people could walk across on dry land.
Dove
Israelites
Jericho
Beth-Jeshimoth
Abel-Shittim
Dead Sea
Canaan
Paran
Tophel
Laban
Hazeroth
Amorites
Baptism
Faith
Miracles
Holy Spirit
John the Baptist
Jesus
Moses
Joshua