(6) Bridges and Fords. There are no bridges over the Jordan to which an earlier date has been assigned than that of the Roman occupation; and there are vestiges of Roman roads in different •parts of the country—between Nardus and Pei sdn, for instance--that may well have crossed these bridges. The Saracens afterwards added to their number, or restored those which they found in ruins. Thus the bridge called el-Ghujan over the Hashbeiya has two pointed arches and one round (Newbold. p. 13), while the entire architecture of the Jisr Bend/ Ya'Kdb (of thc daughters of Jacob), two and one-half miles to the south of Little Hfileh, as well as of the khan adjacent to it on the eastern side, is pronounced to be Saracenic (same, p. 2o). A Roman bridge of ten arches, lisr Semakh, spans the Jordan near the village bearing that namc, and was doubtless cn the route from Tiberias and Tarichea to Ga dara and Decapolis (Newbold, p. 21; Irby, p. go). Lastly, the bridge of Mejamich, which crosses the Jordan about six miles from the Lake of Gennesa ret, was Saraccnic; while that ncar the ford, Dd mich, was more Roman (Newbold, p. 20, and Lynch, Narr., April 16.) There are four principal fords over the river : the lower one, opposite Jericho, near the famous bathing place of the pilgrims; another, eastward of Sakut; and two others, nearer the Sca of Gali lee. At low water there arc many other points at which the river might bc easily forded, and the British Survey discovered evidences of various fords. During the floods the Arabs are frequently obliged to swim their horses across the river.
(7) Climate and Vegetation. The great de pression of the Jordan valley gives to it a semi tropical character. "In its natural products it stands unique, a tropical oasis sunk in the tem perate zone." Undcr the intense heat vegetation advances with wonderful rapidity, but is as,quick ly scorched whenever the water supply is not abundant.
(8) Scripture Reference and History. There is no regular description of the Jordan to be met with in Holy Scripture, and it is only by putting scattercd notices of it together that we can give the general idea which runs through the Bible re specting it.
The earliest of these allusions is not so much to the river itself as to the plain or plains which it traversed: "Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, . . . . even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt" (Gen. xiii :to). Abram had just left Egypt (xii :10-2o), and there fore the comparison between the fertilizing prop erties of the Jordan and of the Nile is very apposite, though it has since been pushed much too far, as we shall see. We may suppose Lot to have had his view from one of the summits of those hills that run north in the direction of Scythopo lis (B. J., iv :7, Sec. 2), bounding the plains of Jordan on the west ; for Lot and Abram were now sojourning between Bethel and Ai (Gen. xiii :3).
Red Sea, where the intermediate agency of a strong east wind is freely admitted (Exod. xiv it is here said, in terms equally explicit, not only that the river was then unusually full of water, but that "the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap . . . while those that came down toward the sea of the plain . . . failed and were cut off," as soon as ever "the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water" (Josh. iii 16). That it happened in harvest time is seen also from chapter V:10-12. Among those who crossed over the Jordan were Gideon, "faint yet pursuing" after Zebali and Zalmunna ( Judg. viii :4, 5) ; the Am monites, invading Judah (Judg. x :9) ; Abner, in flight (2 Sam. ii :2g) ; David in flight (2 Sam.
Frow far the plain extended in length or breadth is not said: other passages speak of "Jordan and his border" (Josh. xiii :27), "the borders of Jor
dan" (xxii:H), and "the plains of Jericho" (iv : 13 ; comp. 2 Kings xxv :5) ; all evidently sub divisions of the same idea, comprehending the east bank equally with the west (Josh. xiii :27).
One of the fords we have mentioned un doubtedly witnessed the first recorded passage of the Jordan in the Old Testament ; we say recorded, because there can be little dispute but that Abra ham must have crossed it likewise. But only the passage of Jacob is mentioned, and that in remark able language: "With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands" (Gen. xxxii :to, and Jabbok in connection with it, verse 22: . And Jordan was next crossed—over against Jericho--by Joshua the son of Nun, at the head of the descendants of the twelve sons of him who signalized the first passage. The magnitude of their operations may be inferred from the fact, that—of the children of Reuben and of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh only—"about 4o,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle." . . . . (Josh. iv :12 and 13.) The ceremonial of this second crossing is too well known to need recapitulation. It may be ob served, however, that, unlike the passage of the :tvii :22), and returning to his capital (xix :15, 18) (mention is here made of a ferry-boat, prob ably only a raft, the only time in Scripture) ; David, to war with the Syrians; Absalom, in pursuit of his father (2 Sam. xvii :24) ; Elijah and Elisha, parting the waters with the mantle (2 Kings ii :6-14). As two and a half tribes of Israel dwelt east of the river, the amount of crossing and recrossing must have been consider able, and the best fords were well known (comn. Josh. ii :7 ; Judg. iii :28 ; vii :24; xii :5, 6). The river was known to Job (Job xl :23), and Jeremiah speaks of "the swelling of Jordan" (Jer. xii:5 ; xlix :19; 1:44). Noteworthy miracles, in addi tion to those already mentioned, were the curing of Naaman (2 Kings v :14), and the making the iron to swim (vi :6).
The Jordan is mentioned about 18o times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament .it is men tioned 15 times. The chief events noted in con nection with it in the New Testament are John's baptism of the multitudes (Matt. iii :6), and espe cially his baptism of Jesus (Mark i :g). In com memoration of this latter event it is the custom for Christian pilgrims in great numbers to bathe in the Jordan not far from Jericho at Easter.
The Jordan has been severz.1 times navigated in a boat in modern thnes—by Costigan, i835 ; by Molyncaux, 1847; by Lieut. Lynch, t848; bY Macgregor (Rob Roy), 1869. "The sight of the Jordan, says Schaff, "is rather disappointing. It bears no comparison in majesty and beauty to the great rivers of Europe and Amcrica. Naaman thought the clear rivers of his native Damascus far superior, yet the Abana and Pharpar could not wash away his leprosy. Its chief importance is historic. In this rcspect the Jordan surpasses the Hudson and the Mississippi, the Rhine and the Danube, and even the Nile. It marks the termina tion of the wanderings of the children of Israel from the banks of the Nile, and the beginning of their history as an independent nation in their own home. It blends the memories of the old and new Covenants as the culmination of John's testi mony and the inauguration of Christ's kingdom." --Through Bible Lands, p. 299. "Surely, says Macgregor, "the Jordan is by far the most won derful stream on the face of the earth, and the memories of its. history will not be forgotten in heaven."—Rob Roy on the Jordan p. 4o6. It is a sacred stream alike to Jew, Ish.maelite, Chris tian, and Mohammedan, and in this surpasses in interest any other river in the world (Schaff Bib. Dict.). (See PALESTINE.)