While the northern part of the Ghdr is fertile, and more especially the environs of Beisan, it is very different in the south, near Jericho. This town, it is true, and its immediate neighbourhood, form a kind of oasis ; but the rest of this region is not nearly so rich, the soil being impregnated with salt substances ; one is reminded of the nearness of the Dead Sea.
It is this district that is referred to in the passarjes of the OT where the 'Jordan of Jericho* is spoken of. Tliis does not mean a particular branch of the river, far less another stream of the same name (as, e,g,^ they say in Valais, ' the Visp of Saas ' and ' the Visp of Zermatt ')■ It is simplv ' the Jordan in the district of Jericho.' See Nu 22' 263- 63 31i- 33-18- 50 3415 351 3013 Job 1332 161 208, 1 ch 663(78). We must correct the AV and RV this respect, and remember that Jordan is originally a
Another Biblical expression referring to this particular region is Kikkar hay-Yarden (pn:n 135), Gn ISiOf-, or hak-Kikkar (Gn 1312 1917. 25. 28f., Neh 322 1228), lit. ' the circle ' (i.e. the basin) of the Jordan, or, more briefly, ' the circle ' ; in Greek r, .ripix'^pc; T«D 'Ufiita, (LXX, Mt 35, Lk 33). It may seem at first sight that **"" ''~i should apply to the whole valley, but it is more
Dead Sea, with Jericho as centre (cf. Dt 343), and stretching northwards until near Sartabeh (cf. 2 S \«-K 1 K 7«, 2 Ch 4"),
uding the
and perhaps also inc
latter point depends c
Kikkar (Cities of the Plain"), and to z£ar in particula
present writer thinks their site ought to be sought to the
of the Dead Sea, and this frees him from the necessity of t
also find as i
. designation of the region of Jericho, the pnrasearfiotA i'ericho (Jos 510, 2 K 255), and for the district facing It, to the east of the Jordan, 'arboth Moali (Nu 22' 263-63 3112 33J8-50 351 361S, Dt 341. 8, Jos 1332). The Hebrew word used here is the plural of 'Arabah.
6. Historical and political rdle. — It is a common- place to say that the Jordan separates E. Palestine from \V. Palestine. But one often yields to the temptation to over-estimate the importance of this separation. The Jordan has been called ' the gieat Divider.' We should not exaggerate. The separa- tion does exist, but it is not so great as peo])le think. And if separation there is, it is not the river itself, wth its narrow breadth— 45 to 90 feet
on an average, at places perhaps as broad as 180 (?) feet — and its numerous fords, that constitute it ; it is rather the vallev as a whole, the GhOr enclosed between its lateral ramparts, with its intolerable heat, and its want of securitjr. The stream itself is so little of an obstacle that it is constantly being crossed, easily, too easily.
In ancient times it kept back neither armies nor raids. The pilgi-ims of Galilee, who in the times of Judaism made their way to Jerusalem, had so little dread of passing the nver that they chose to cross it twice and make their journey by way of Peraea rather than pass through the territory of the Samaritans. John the Baptist baptized beyond the Jordan, and that did not prevent crowds from going to him. Later on, the river was again crossed at all times and with great ease, and down to the most recent epochs the incursions of trans- Jordan Bedawin have not been prevented by the river, any more than the expeditions sent forth in pursuit of them. And this Avas as little the case when the Midianites invaded the territory of the Israelites, and Gideon put them to rout and pur- sued them, while the Ephraimites held the fords. The mountain-slopes are here and there quite accessible ; it is easy to descend and ascend the lateral wadis. The valley which stretches down from Jezreel to Beisan is the most convenient of the great routes, and there are many others. G. A. Smith has admirably shown the close connexion between Samaria and the country of Gilead (HGHL p. 335 ff.).
The Jordan valley is so inefl'ectual a barrier, that at all times the possessors of the western district have felt the necessity of establishing themselves on the eastern bank for the sake of safety. The 24 tribes of Israel quartered on the left bank were a rampart guarding their western brethren from the invaders and pillagers of the east. The Romans realized the need of occupying the country across the Jordan in a strong and unassailable manner. And in our day security was not really re-established on the west of the Jordan until the Turkish Govern- ment imposed its authority in a firm and permanent fashion m the provinces east of the river.
7. OT references. — It has been well said (Jewish Eiici/c. vii. p. 239), ' There is no regular description of the Jordan in the Bible ; only scattered and indefinite references to it are given.' There are 176 references to the Jordan in the OT, the majority of which are found in the narrative books of Jos. (67), Deut. (26), Nu. (20), Sam. (17 : 2-1-15), Kings (12:3-^9), Jg. (12), Ch. (7:1-1-6), Gn. (5). But by far the greater number of those have to do with topographical expressions such as ' on this side Jordan,' 'beyond Jordan,' 'to go over Jordan,' 'by Jordan.' If those cases are deducted, all that remain are very few. Besides, as the present Dictionary is devoted to the Gospels, we have not to enter into details as we should have to do if it treated of the OT. We shall confine ourselves therefore t« noting the following. («) The crossing of the Jordan by the Israelites (Jos 3-4 : cf. Ps 114^-^). This narrative must be compared with what happened on the 8th of December 1267 at the bridge of Damieh, in the reign of the Sultan Beibars I. (1260-77), according to the Arabic his- torian Nowairi (PEFSt, 1895, pp. '253-261, 334- 338), and the mention of a similar fact in the Val Blenio, in Tessin, when in 1512 a landslip stopped the flow of a stream for 14 months, after which a clearance was efi'ected by the bursting of the barrier which had been formed, (b) The seizing of the fords of the Jordan by Ehud after the murder of Eglon (Jg 32"). (c) The campaign of Gideon (Jg 7-8) against Midian. (d) That of Jeph- thah against the Ephraimites (Jg 12). (c) The flight of David before Absalom, the battle which