Jordan

views updated May 29 2018

Jordan a river flowing southward for 320 km (200 miles) from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains through the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea. John the Baptist baptized Christ in the River Jordan. It is regarded as sacred not only by Christians but also by Jews and Muslims.

The crossing of Jordan is taken figuratively (after Numbers 33:51, in reference to the Israelites passing over Jordan to the land of Canaan) to symbolize death; the usage was reinforced by John Bunyan in the second part of Pilgrim's Progress (1684) in the story of Mr Standfast's crossing the river.

Jordan

views updated May 11 2018

Jordan River in the Middle East, rising in the Anti-Lebanon mountains at the confluence of the Hasbani, Dan, and Baniyas rivers. It flows s through Israel and the Sea of Galilee, and empties into the Dead Sea. Since 1967, the s part of the river forms a section of the Israel-Jordan border. Length: 320km (200mi).