This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia. For other meanings, see Jordan River (disambiguation) and Jordan Valley (disambiguation).

River Jordan (Hebrew: נהר הירדן, nehar hayarden, Arabic: نهر الأردنnahr al-urdun)
River
Name origin: Greek: Ιορδάνης < Hebrew: ירדן (yardén, descender) < ירד (yarad, to descend)[1][2]
Country	Israel, and Jordan
Tributaries
- left	Banias River, Dan River
- right	Hasbani River, Iyon River
Landmarks	Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea
Length	251 km (156 mi)
The Jordan River runs along the border between Israel, the West Bank and the Kingdom of Jordan

The Jordan River (Hebrew: נהר הירדן nehar hayarden, Arabic: نهر الأردن nahr al-urdun) is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language For the city in northwestern Syria, see Baniyas. For the processor formerly codenamed Banias see Pentium M. The Dan River (Hebrew דן dan Arabic اللدان leddan is a Tributary of the Jordan river whose source is located at the base of Mount Hermon. The Hasbani (الحاصباني al-Hasbani; נחל שניר Nahal Snir) also Snir Stream, is a Lebanese River that merges with The Sea of Galilee, also Sea of Genneseret, Lake Kinneret or Lake Tiberias (Hebrew ים כנרת) (Arabic بحيرة طبريا) The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between Historically and religiously, it is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers. ^[3] It is 251 kilometers (156 miles) long. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States

Physical characteristics

Tributaries

• The Hasbani (Hebrew: שניר senir, Arabic: الحاصباني hasbani), which flows from Lebanon. The Hasbani (الحاصباني al-Hasbani; נחל שניר Nahal Snir) also Snir Stream, is a Lebanese River that merges with
• The Banias (Hebrew: חרמון hermon, Arabic: بانياس banias), arising from a spring at Banias at the foot of Mount Hermon. For the city in northwestern Syria, see Baniyas. For the processor formerly codenamed Banias see Pentium M. Mount Hermon ( הר חרמון Har Hermon, جبل الشيخجبل حرمون Jabal el-Shaiykh, Jabal Haramon
• The Dan (Hebrew: דן dan, Arabic: اللدان leddan), whose source is also at the base of Mount Hermon. The Dan River (Hebrew דן dan Arabic اللدان leddan is a Tributary of the Jordan river whose source is located at the base of Mount Hermon.
• The Iyon (Hebrew: עיון iyon, Arabic: دردره derdara or براغيث braghith), which flows from Lebanon.

Course

The river drops rapidly in a 75 kilometer run to swampy Lake Hula, which is slightly below sea level in the Galilee sea. The Hula Valley (עמק החולה Emek HaHula) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface Exiting the lake, it drops much more in about 25 kilometers to the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee, also Sea of Genneseret, Lake Kinneret or Lake Tiberias (Hebrew ים כנרת) (Arabic بحيرة طبريا) 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. Stream gradient is the ratio of drop in a Stream per unit distance usually expressed as feet per Mile or Meters per Kilometer A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse also known as an oxbow loop or simply an Oxbow. The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between An endorheic basin (from Greek endo ‘inside’ + rhein ‘to flow’ also terminal or closed basin) is a closed Drainage basin Two major tributaries enter from the east during this last phase: the Yarmouk River and Jabbok River. A tributary is a Stream or River which flows into a mainstem (or parent river The Yarmouk River ( Arabic: نهر اليرموك, " Nahr Al-Yarmuk " Hebrew: נהר הירמוך " Nehar HaYarmukh " Jabbok, "pouring out" is a river on the east side of the Jordan River, one of the so-called torrent valleys

Its section north of the Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: כינרת kinneret, Arabic: Bohayrat Tabaraya, meaning Lake of Tiberias) is within the boundaries of Israel, and forms the western boundary of the Golan Heights. The Sea of Galilee, also Sea of Genneseret, Lake Kinneret or Lake Tiberias (Hebrew ים כנרת) (Arabic بحيرة طبريا) Tiberias ( British English: /taɪˈbɪəriæs -əs/ American English: /taɪˈbɪriəs/ טְבֶרְיָה Tverya; طبرية Ṭabariyyah For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Borders of Israel The Golan Heights ( الجولان al-Jawlān, הגולן ha-Golan) is a strategic Plateau and mountainous South of the lake, it forms the border between the Kingdom of Jordan (to the east) and Israel and the West Bank (to the west). Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria

Human impact

In 1964 Israel began operating a dam that diverts water from the Sea of Galilee, a major Jordan River water provider, to the National Water Carrier. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees Origins The National Water Carrier of Israel (המוביל הארצי HaMovil HaArtzi) is the largest Water project in Israel. Also in 1964 Jordan constructed a channel that diverted water from the Yarmouk River, another main tributary of the Jordan River. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The Yarmouk River ( Arabic: نهر اليرموك, " Nahr Al-Yarmuk " Hebrew: נהר הירמוך " Nehar HaYarmukh " Syria has also built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters. Environmentalists blame Israel, Jordan and Syria for extensive damage to the Jordan River ecosystem. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية ^[3]

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.

In September 2006 a problem arose with contamination: just downstream, raw sewage is flowing into the water. Events in September It is the start of the academic year in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Small sections of the Jordan's upper portion, near the Sea of Galilee, have been kept pristine for baptisms. The Sea of Galilee, also Sea of Genneseret, Lake Kinneret or Lake Tiberias (Hebrew ים כנרת) (Arabic بحيرة طبريا) Most polluted is the 60-mile downstream stretch - a meandering stream from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between Environmentalists say the practice has almost destroyed the river's ecosystem. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Rescuing the river could take decades, according to environmentalists. ^[3] In 2007, friends of the Earth Middle East named the Jordan River as one of the world's 100 most endangered ecological sites, due in part to lack of cooperation between Israel and the neighboring Arab states. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Friends of the Earth (HK is not a member of Friends of the Earth International ^[4]

Importance

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. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn

Transport

Route 90 connects the northern and southern tips of Israel and parallels the Jordan River on the western side. Route 90 is the longest road in Israel, at about 480 km and stretches from Metula and the northern border with Lebanon, along the western side of

Biblical importance

Tanakh

In the 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). Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. 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 (Genesis 32:11, 32:23-24). Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; Jabbok, "pouring out" is a river on the east side of the Jordan River, one of the so-called torrent valleys For the village in Azerbaijan see Haran Azerbaijan. In the Bible, Haran is the name of a man and of a place 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 (Joshua 13:7, passim). The Book of Numbers, ( Bamidbar, meaning in the wilderness) is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. Joshua, Jehoshuah, or Yehoshua ( 'יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Tiberian: jə

Opposite Jericho it was called "the Jordan of Jericho" (Numbers 34:15; 35:1). Jericho ( Arabic, ʼArīḥā; Hebrew, Standard Yəriḥo Tiberian Yərîḫô 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). A ford is a place in a Watercourse (most commonly a stream or River) that is shallow enough to be crossed by wading on Horseback or in a wheeled Book of Judges ( Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. 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 (1 Kings 7:46). The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible.

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 (Joshua 3:15-17). A miracle is an event believed to be caused by interposition of Divine intervention by a Supernatural being in the Universe by which the ordinary operation 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 (Joshua 22:10, 22:26, et seq. ). The Jordan was said to be crossed dry-shod by Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:8, 2:14). Elijah or Elias ( was a Prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC Elisha ( Greek el Ελισσαίος Elisaios) is a Biblical prophet Elisha performed two other miracles at the Jordan: he healed Naaman by having him bathe in its waters, and he made the axe head of one of the "children of the prophets" float, by throwing a piece of wood into the water (2 Kings 5:14; 6:6). Naaman is also the name of one of the Minor characters in the Book of Genesis Naaman (נַעֲמָן "pleasantness" was a commander of

The Jordan was crossed by Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan Maccabaeus during their war with the Nabatæans (1 Maccabees 5:24). Judas Maccabeus (or Judah Maccabee, also spelled Machabeus or Maccabaeus Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, Yehudah HaMakabi, Judah the Hammer Jonathan Maccabaeus was leader of the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom probably about 100 BC. A little later the Jordan was the scene of the battle between Jonathan and Bacchides, in which the latter was defeated (1 Maccabees 9:42-49).

New Testament

The excavated remains of Bethabara, in modern-day Jordan, where John the Baptist is believed to have conducted his ministry. This entry incorporates text from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia with some modernisation Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Saint John the Baptist ( heb. Jochanan ben Sacharja, arab. يحيى Yaḥyā or يوحنا Yūḥanna, aram.

The New Testament states that John the Baptist baptized unto repentance^[5] in the Jordan (Matthew 3:5-6; Mark1:5; Luke 3:3; John1:28). Saint John the Baptist ( heb. Jochanan ben Sacharja, arab. يحيى Yaḥyā or يوحنا Yūḥanna, aram. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel Content Authorship The gospel itself is anonymous but as early as Papias in the early 2nd century a text was attributed to Mark, a cousin The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon This is recounted as having taken place at Bethabara (John 1:28). This entry incorporates text from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia with some modernisation

Jesus came to be baptized by him there (Matthew 3:13; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21, 4:1). Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. The Jordan is also where John the Baptist bore record of Jesus as the Son of God and Lamb of God (John 1:29-36). Son of God is a phrase found in the Hebrew Bible, various other Jewish texts and the New Testament. Lamb of God ( Latin: Agnus Dei) is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian

The prophesy of Isaiah regarding the Messiah which names the Jordan (Isaiah 9:1-2) is recounted in Matthew 4:15. Prophecy, generally describes the disclosing of Information that is not known to the Prophet by any ordinary means Isaiah (; Greek:, Ēsaiās; Arabic: اشعیاء, Ash-ee-yaa; "Salvation of/is YHWH " is This article is about the concept of a Messiah in religion notably in the Christian Islamic and Jewish traditions

The New Testament speaks several times about Jesus crossing the Jordan during his ministry (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1), and of believers crossing the Jordan to come hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases (Matthew 4:25; Mark 3:7-8). A sermon is an oration by a Prophet or member of the Clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, or religious topic A miracle is an event believed to be caused by interposition of Divine intervention by a Supernatural being in the Universe by which the ordinary operation When his enemies sought to capture him, Jesus took refuge at Jordan in the place John had first baptized (John 10:39-40).

Gallery

Northern part of the Great Rift Valley as seen from space (NASA)	The Jordan River
Road sign		In spring

Symbolic importance

The Jordan is a frequent symbol in folk, gospel, and spiritual music, or in poetic or literary works. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Gospel music is Music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life as well as (in terms of the varying music styles to Spirituals (or Negro spirituals) are songs which were created by African slaves in America. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter

Because the Israelites made a difficult and hazardous journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in The Promised Land, the Jordan can refer to freedom. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The actual crossing is the final step of the journey, which is then complete. The Jordan also can signify death itself, with the crossing from life into Paradise or Heaven. Paradise is a word of Persian origin ( Persian: پردیس Pardìs) that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond

References

See also

• Jordan River Crossing

External links

• Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law See Jordan River; Arab-Israeli conflicts. The Jordan River Crossing ( Arabic: معبر نهر الأردن Hebrew: מסוף נהר ירדן is an international border crossing between Irbid, Peace Palace Library
• SMART - Multilateral project for sustainable water management in the lower Jordan Valley
• The Baptism of Christ - Uncovering Bethany beyond the Jordan - 47 min Documentary

Coordinates: 33°11′12″N 35°37′09″E / 33.18667, 35.61917