Jordan River
The river that runs from the foot of Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Israel crossed it under Joshua, Elijah was taken up beside it, and John baptised Jesus in it.
The Jordan flows south through the Sea of Galilee and down a deep valley to the Dead Sea. In Joshua the tribes cross it on dry ground opposite Jericho to enter the land (Joshua 3:14–17). Kings sets the parting of Elijah and Elisha on its banks, with the water dividing for each of them in turn (2 Kings 2:6–14); see Elisha Succeeds Elijah. Elisha later sent Naaman to wash in it (2 Kings 5:10–14). In the Gospels John baptises in the Jordan, and Jesus comes there from Galilee to be baptised (Matthew 3:13–17). The marker stands at the middle of the river’s course; the crossings in Joshua and Kings are placed in its lowest stretch, near Jericho.
What happened here
- c. 1406 or c. 1220 BC, traditional dateCrossing the Jordan and the Fall of Jericho
The book of Joshua tells how Israel crosses the Jordan on dry ground, camps at Gilgal and keeps its first Passover in Canaan. Jericho’s wall falls after a seven-day procession around the city, and Rahab, who had sheltered Joshua’s spies, is spared.
- about 850 BC, traditional dateElisha Succeeds Elijah
Elijah and his disciple Elisha cross the Jordan near Jericho. Kings says that Elijah is carried up to heaven in a whirlwind and that Elisha, taking up his master’s cloak, returns as the prophet in his place.
- c. AD 28–29, estimated dateJohn the Baptist Preaches at the Jordan
Luke dates to the fifteenth year of Tiberius the preaching of John, who calls Israel to repentance in the wilderness and baptises crowds in the Jordan. All four Gospels and the Jewish historian Josephus describe him.
- c. AD 26–29, estimated dateThe Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
Jesus comes from Nazareth to the Jordan and is baptised by John. The Gospels tell of the Spirit descending on him and a voice from heaven naming him the beloved Son, and then of forty days of testing in the wilderness.