Biblical Geography: Jordan River Valley and Perea (Trans-Jordan)
by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.
Jordan (185x OT; 15x NT)
The Jordan River is the main river of Palestine, which flows north to south, from its headwaters near ancient Dan or Caesarea Philippi, through Lake Huldah and Lake Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee), down the long Jordan Rift Valley, and emptying into the Dead Sea.
The region east of the Jordan river is called Pereaor the Trans-Jordan
(Greek peran tou Iordanou, literally "across the Jordan," from the perspective of people living on the west side).
Matt 3:5-6 – Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, / and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Matt 3:13 – Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.
Matt 4:15 – “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
Matt 4:25 – And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Matt 19:1 – When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
Mark 1:5 – And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Mark 1:9 – In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Mark 3:8 – hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon.
Mark 10:1 – He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.
Luke 3:3 – He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
Luke 4:1 – Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
John 1:28 – This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
John 3:26 – They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”
John 10:40 – He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.
Jericho (57x in OT; 7x in NT)
Jericho is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating back at least to the 7th millennium BC.
It was a fairly large city in NT times, and was where King Herod's winter palace was located (ruins of which still exist today).
Matt 20:29 – As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.
Mark 10:46 (2x) – They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.
Luke 10:30 – Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
Luke 18:35 – As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
Luke 19:1 – He entered Jericho and was passing through it.
Hebrews 11:30 – By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.
Salt Sea / Dead Sea (9x OT); Sea of the Arabah (6x OT)
The Dead Seais the lowest place on earth (1412 ft below sea level) and one of the world's saltiest bodies of water; today it is bordered by Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.
Genesis 14:3 – All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).
Numbers 34:3 – your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea on the east;
Numbers 34:12 – and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Dead Sea. This shall be your land with its boundaries all around.
Deuteronomy 3:17 – the Arabah also, with the Jordan and its banks, from Chinnereth down to the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, with the lower slopes of Pisgah on the east.
Deuteronomy 4:49 – together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.
Joshua 3:16 – the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
Joshua 12:3 – and the Arabah to the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;
Joshua 15:2 – And their south boundary ran from the end of the Dead Sea, from the bay that faces southward;
Joshua 15:5 – And the east boundary is the Dead Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan;
Joshua 18:19 – then the boundary passes on to the north of the slope of Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border.
2 Kings 14:25 – He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.
Ezekiel 47:8 – He said to me, “This water flows (from the Jerusalem Temple) toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.”
En-Gedi or Ein Gedi (6x OT)
En-Gediis an oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, known for its fertile palm trees and vineyards.
Joshua 15:62 – Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi: six towns with their villages.
1 Samuel 23:29 – David then went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
1 Samuel 24:1 – When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the wilderness of En-gedi."
2 Chronicles 20:2 – Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar" (that is, En-gedi).
Song of Solomon 1:14 – My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
Ezekiel 47:10 – People will stand fishing beside the (Dead) sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
