Jordan River
This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia. For other meanings, see Jordan River (disambiguation) and Jordan Valley (disambiguation). |
Northern part of the Great Rift Valley as seen from space (NASA) |
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The Jordan River |
The
Jordan River (
Arabic: نهر الأردن
nahr al-urdun,
Hebrew: × ×"ר ×"יר×"ן
nehar hayarden) is a
river in
Southwest Asia flowing through the
Great Rift Valley into the
Dead Sea. It is 251
kilometers (156
miles) long. Its tributaries are the
Hasbani (Hebrew: ×©× ×™×¨
senir, Arabic: الØاصباني
hasbani), which flows from
Lebanon, Banias (Hebrew: חרמון
hermon, Arabic: بانياس
banias), arising from a spring at
Banias at the base of
Mount Hermon, and Dan (Hebrew: ×"ן
dan, Arabic: اللدان
leddan), whose source is also at the base of Mount Hermon. The three merge to form the Jordan in northern
Israel/
Palestine, near Kibbutz Sede Nehemya. The Jordan drops rapidly in a 75 kilometer run to swampy
Lake Hula, which is slightly below sea level in the Rift Valley. Exiting the lake, it drops much more in about 25 kilometers to the
Sea of Galilee. The last section has less
gradient, and the river begins to
meander before it enters the
Dead Sea, which is about 400 meters below sea level and has no outlet. Two major tributaries enter from the east during this last phase, the
Yarmouk River and
Jabbok River.
Its section north of the
Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: ×›×™× ×¨×ª
kinneret, Arabic:
Bohayrat Tabaraya, meaning Lake of
Tiberias) is within the boundaries of
Israel (disputed by Syria), and forms the western boundary of the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. South of the lake, it forms the border between the kingdom of
Jordan (to the east) and Palestine/Israel (to the west). Further south, it forms the border between Jordan and the
West Bank.
In modern times the waters are 70 to 90% used for human purposes and the flow is much reduced. Because of this and the high evaporation rate of the Dead Sea, the sea is shrinking. All the shallow waters of the southern end of the sea have been drained in modern times and are now salt flats.
The waters of the Jordan are an extremely important resource to the dry lands of the area and are a bone of contention between
Lebanon,
Syria,
Jordan,
Israel and the
Palestinians.
Route 90 connects the northern and southern tips of Israel and parallels the Jordan River on the western side.
The Jordan Valley (Bikat HaYardenn in Hebrew) is patroled by the 97th infantry batallion of the IDF, Nahal Hareidi. A strictly religious combat unit, it serves a constituency of observant Jews who would normally not go to the army on religious grounds.
In the
Hebrew Bible, the Jordan is referred to as the source of fertility to a large plain ("Kikkar ha-Yarden"), called on account of its luxuriant vegetation "the garden of
God" (
Genesis 13:10). There is no regular description of the Jordan in the Bible; only scattered and indefinite references to it are given.
Jacob crossed it and its tributary, the
Jabbok (the modern Al-Zarḳa), in order to reach
Haran (Gen. 32:11, 23-24). It is noted as the line of demarcation between the "two tribes and the half tribe" settled to the east (
Numbers 34:15) and the "nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh" that, led by
Joshua, settled to the west (Josh. 13:7, passim).
Opposite
Jericho it was called "the Jordan of Jericho" (Num. 34: 15, 35: 1). The Jordan has a number of
fords, and one of them is famous as the place where many Ephraimites were slain by Jephthah (
Judges 12:5-6). It seems that these are the same fords mentioned as being near Beth-barah, where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites (Judges 7:24). In the plain of the Jordan, between Succoth and Zarthan, is the clay ground where Solomon had his brass-foundries (
I Kings 7:46).
In Biblical history the Jordan appears as the scene of several
miracles, the first taking place when the Jordan, near Jericho, was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua (Josh. iii. 15-17). Later the two tribes and the half tribe that settled east of the Jordan built a large altar on its banks as "a witness" between them and the other tribes (Josh. xxii. 10, 26 et seq.). The Jordan was said to be crossed dry-shod by
Elijah and
Elisha (II Kings 2: 8, 14). Elisha performed two other miracles at the Jordan: he healed Naaman by having him bathe in its waters, and he made the ax of one of the children of the prophets float, by throwing a piece of wood into the water (II Kings 5:14, 6:6).
The Jordan was crossed by
Judas Maccabeus and his brother
Jonathan Maccabaeus during their war with the Nabatæans (
1 Maccabees 5:24). A little later the Jordan was the scene of the battle between Jonathan and
Bacchides, in which the latter was defeated (I Macc. 9:42-49).
The
New Testament states that
John the Baptist baptized
Jesus in the Jordan (Matt. 3:13).
*
Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law See
Jordan River; Arab-Israeli conflicts. Peace Palace Libray
