River
Jordan River
JOR-dun · Modern Jordan River, Israel/Jordan/West Bank border · Also called the Jordan, the river Jordan
Jordan River is a river of the biblical world.
What is known
- Site of John the Baptist's ministry of baptism, including the baptism of Jesus
- Flows south from the Mount Hermon area through the Sea of Galilee and down to the Dead Sea
- Marked the boundary the Israelites crossed to enter the Promised Land in the book of Joshua, giving it deep symbolic weight in Jewish and Christian tradition
History
- Coordinates
- 32.7170° N, 35.5710° E
Archaeology
On the east bank of the Jordan, the site of Al-Maghtas ("Bethany Beyond the Jordan") has been excavated since the 1990s and identified by archaeologists and UNESCO as the traditional location of Jesus's baptism by John the Baptist. Digs uncovered the remains of five successive Byzantine-era churches, baptismal pools, a monastery, and hermit caves dating from the 5th to 12th centuries, reflecting continuous Christian veneration of the site since antiquity; the precise spot of the baptism itself, given the river's shifting course over two millennia, cannot be pinpointed with certainty.
Scripture references
- Matthew 3:6
- Matthew 3:13 — Baptism of Jesus
- Mark 1:5
- Mark 1:9
- Luke 3:3
- John 1:28
- John 3:26
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
Jesus stepped into the same muddy river as everyone else to be baptized — where do you need to simply begin, without waiting for something grander?
Capstone Bible is a free interactive study app — a map of every place in this library, a zoomable timeline of biblical and church history, the Bible text with every name in it linked to its article, reading plans and personal notes.
Open Capstone Bible