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The Jordan River—or River
Jordan, as it is commonly
called—is one of the most sacred
places, both historically and
symbolically, for Christians
throughout the world. Joshua,
Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist
and Jesus Christ all crossed it
during their lifetimes, and it
is associated with some of the
most important events in the
Bible.
After the death of Moses, the
Bible says that God stopped the
waters from flowing, allowing
Joshua to lead his people across
the River Jordan into Canaan
(Joshua 3: 14-17). This
reportedly took place at a ford
in the river directly opposite
Jericho known as Bethabara, or
Beit ‘Abara ("house of the
crossing").
This place, opposite Jericho, is
believed to be the same place
where the Prophets Elijah and
Elisha parted the waters and
crossed miraculously to the east
bank of the Jordan. From a
nearby spot on the east side,
Elijah then ascended into heaven
"on a chariot of fire and horses
of fire" (2 Kings 2: 5-14).
For Christians, the most
significant event associated
with the River Jordan is
undoubtedly the baptism of
Jesus Christ by John the
Baptist. Interestingly enough,
this also took place very close
to Beit ‘Abara, where Joshua,
Elijah and Elisha crossed the
river. In New Testament times,
it became known as Bethany,
the village of John the Baptist.
This Bethany is not to be
confused with the village of
Bethany near Jerusalem, where
the Bible says Lazarus was
raised from the dead.
The Bible clearly records that
Jesus was baptized by John the
Baptist (Matthew 3: 13-17), and
that John the Baptist lived,
preached and baptized in the
village of Bethany, on "the
other side of the Jordan" (John
1: 28). The baptism site, known
in Arabic as al-Maghtas,
is located at the head of a lush
valley just east of the Jordan
River. It is now protected and
by early 1999 it will be
accessible to visitors. After
Jesus’ baptism at Bethany, he
spent forty days in the
wilderness east of the River
Jordan, where he fasted and
resisted the temptations of
Satan (Mark 1: 13, Matthew 4:
1-11).
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