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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(descender). Chief
river
of
Palestine
, rising in the Anti-Libanus range, flowing southward, enlarging into
Sea
of
Galilee
, emptying into
Dead Sea
. A swift, narrow, yet fordable stream, with an entire course of about 200 miles (
Gen. 13:10
10
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. (Genesis 13:10)
;
Josh. 2:7
7
And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. (Joshua 2:7)
;
Judg. 3:28
28
And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. (Judges 3:28)
;
2 Sam. 10:17
17
And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. (2 Samuel 10:17)
;
Matt. 3:13
13
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (Matthew 3:13)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
Download (1.6 MB)
The Jordan
River
in
Spring
The river of
Palestine
is first referred to when
Lot
chose the plain of Jordan, because it was well watered, as the
garden
of the
Lord
(
Gen. 13:10
10
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. (Genesis 13:10)
). The first great event at the river was when the waters from above were driven back, and those below failed and were cut off, and
Israel
marched over on dry land. They had previously passed through the
Red
Sea
, but the details of the two passages are quite different. At the Red Sea
Moses
lifted up his rod and the waters divided; but at the Jordan it was when the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the water that it divided. The ark also remained in the river until all had passed over.
Twelve
stones
were taken out of the river to form a cairn on the land, and twelve stones were placed in the
bed
of the river to be covered by the water. The waters were piled up at
Adam
, some twenty miles from where the Israelites crossed; but at the Red Sea the water was as a wall on each side (
Josh. 3:8-17
8
And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
9
And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.
10
And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12
Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13
And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
14
And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15
And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17
And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. (Joshua 3:8‑17)
;
Josh. 4:1-24
1
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3
And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4
Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5
And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7
Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
8
And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9
And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10
For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12
And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13
About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14
On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15
And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
16
Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
17
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
18
And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
19
And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
20
And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21
And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22
Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23
For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever. (Joshua 4:1‑24)
). (The waters being piled up “
at
Adam” [
Josh. 3:16
16
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. (Joshua 3:16)
] is according to the
Hebrew
text [see also RV and Mr. Darby’s Trans.]; the reading “
from
Adam” is according to the
Keri
.)
All this was typical: the
passage
of the Red Sea typified Christ dying
for
the
believer
(by which the believer escapes
death
and
judgment
); the passage of the Jordan typified the believer dying
with
Christ, and being raised
with
Him (the path of death becomes the path of
life
), according to
Colossians 2:20
20
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Colossians 2:20)
and
Colossians 3:1
1
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
. The waters of the river overflowing its banks at that
time
typified that the full
power
of death was met, and overcome by the death and
resurrection
of Christ. The Jordan, itself has often been taken as a
type
of death having to be passed in order to enter
heaven
; but it is rather a
figure
of the entrance, while on
earth
, through death with Christ to the heavenly position of the
Christian
, where he has to stand for the Lord in conflict with
spiritual
powers of wickedness (compare
Eph. 6:10-18
10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:10‑18)
), as Israel had to fight
the Canaanites
, and so make good the Lord’s possession through them of the promised land.
Download (1.7 MB)
The Jordan River – (a possible
baptism
site)
The Jordan may further be regarded as the boundary of the promised land, so that the two and a half tribes who stayed on the
east
of the Jordan stopped short of their privileges. They are a type of many Christians who do not in
faith
accept the heavenly portion, through death and resurrection, that
God
intends for them. They are thus more exposed to the attacks of the enemy, as were the two and a half tribes who were the first to be carried into
captivity
.
Download (1.0 MB)
The Jordan River—
Galilee
The SWELLING OF JORDAN is alluded to as causing dangers or difficulties. It not only prevented persons crossing at the usual
fords
, but it disturbed the wild beasts in their lairs on its banks, as is
three
times
alluded to (
Jer. 12:5
5
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? (Jeremiah 12:5)
;
Jer. 49:19
19
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? (Jeremiah 49:19)
;
Jer. 50:44
44
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? (Jeremiah 50:44)
). Various incidents and conflicts occurred at the river or on its banks which do not call for remark. In the
New
Testament
it was where
John
baptized.
The Jordan is like no other river in
the world
. The Hebrew name for it,
Yarden
, always has the article, and signifies “the Descender.” It is remarkable for the great fall it has from its source to the
Dead Sea
. It may be said to have three sources: the highest near Hasbeiya, between
Hermon
and
Lebanon
, some 1700 feet above the level of
the sea
; the second, near the ruins of Banias, the ancient
Caesarea
-
Philippi
; and the third near
Tell el Kady
, the ancient
Dan
. The three streams unite with other smaller ones and enter a large morass issuing in the lake of Huleh, which is also called “the
waters of Merom
.” This is estimated to be
seven
feet above the level of the sea. The Jordan issues from the lake in a stream about a hundred feet wide, running
south
. About two miles from the lake is a bridge called
Jisr Benat Yakub
, “Bridge of
Jacob
’s Daughters,” where Jacob is supposed to have crossed. Its banks from this point contract, and the stream rushes violently down a rocky bed, but gets more gentle before it reaches the
Lake of Gennesaret
. The distance from lake to lake is about
ten
miles, but the windings of the river make its length about thirteen miles. The Lake of Gennesaret is 682 feet below the level of the sea, giving a fall of 689 feet in the thirteen miles.
The river leaves this lake about a hundred feet wide and soon passes the remains of a Roman bridge. Some
six
miles from the lake is a bridge called
Jisr el Mujamia
. The river here is deep and rapid; but about fifteen miles farther south an island divides the river and there it is often fordable, as it is also near
Jericho
, and at low water in many other places. Another bridge is called
Jisr ed Damieh
, about 32° 6' N. The river’s greatest width is mentioned as 180 yards and it is about three feet deep on entering the Dead Sea. This is 1292 feet below the level of the sea, being 610 below the Lake of Gennesaret; the distance is about 65 miles, but the water-way has been estimated to be as much as 200 miles: during its course it has 27 rapids. There are several streams that run into the Jordan both on the east and the
west
. The two principal ones are on the east: the
Yarmuk
or
Wady Hieromax
and the
Jabbok
, now called
Wady Zerka
. They are both at times called rivers.
The
valley
in which the Jordan runs is called the
Ghor
. On the east it is bounded by a high
table
land and on the west by high hills. In the valley is a terrace of vegetation, and in the middle of this are the true banks of the river, having in places a jungle of willows, reeds, canes, and such like. See
SALT
SEA.
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Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
their descent
Related Books and Articles:
Jordan: January 2014
Passover, Red Sea and Jordan: December 2009
Crossing the Jordan
From:
Streams of Refreshing From the Fountain of Life
By:
Hugh Henry Snell
Crossing the Jordan
From:
History Maps
The Red Sea and Jordan
From:
Notes and Comments 2
By:
John Nelson Darby
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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