JORDAN MEANING
The Jordan River, name of Hebrew origin, yarden, or Greek, iordanes. derives from the root yrs, which means 'to descend, the one who descends', The length of the Jordan River is 251 kilometers, but its basin is larger: it measures about 18,500 km2 and occupies parts of Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank .
Traditionally, the river is divided into three large geographically differentiated parts, from north to south. It rises in the mountains of Anti-Lebanon, in the northern foothills of Mount Hermon (2814 m), from where it flows through southeastern Lebanon to the south, entering Israel and finally emptying into the Dead Sea. It is an element of vital geostrategic importance for Israel since it is considered that around 70% of the country's drinking water reserves depend on this river.
In the north of Israel the first section is located up to the Lake Hulah area. Then it goes through a second phase to the Sea of Galilee, and then continues in a third part that ends at the Dead Sea.
The upper part of the river contains most of the water, and the lower course represents 40 percent of the basin, with a smaller amount of liquid. It goes from Mount Hermon to the Red Sea. Its importance is not due so much to its dimensions or its economic importance, but rather to the symbolic value it acquires after the biblical events that have been demonstrated along its banks since ancient times.
In addition to the religious aspect, a small sports leisure industry has also developed that takes advantage of the places with the largest volume of water for water sports. Boat trips, kayaking and even rafting are offered by local companies. The beautiful landscapes of its shores are also used to practice other outdoor sports such as trekking, horseback riding, cycling or ATV.
The waters of jordan river they constitute the second most important water resources for Israel. A large part of the liquid is used to pay for agriculture and livestock, and as the populations located on the riverbanks are growing, as well as economic development, the extraction of water is essential to meet the needs of the inhabitants. Jordan alone receives 50 million m3 of water from the Jordan.
The demand for water for agriculture and domestic use is very large; in comparison, the industrial sector has a very small demand for water. This is largely because industries are more numerous and larger in the Gulf of Aqaba industrial zone and in the Dead Sea region.
THE JORDAN RIVER IN THE BIBLE
No river figures more prominently in the Bible than the Jordan, which is mentioned more than 75 times. Its meaning in the texts is double: it is a natural border, which marks a here and a beyond between the promised land and between the inheritance of the tribes of Israel
The entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land, led by Joshua, takes place through the Jordan. This passage indicates the beginning of a new life for the chosen people in the land that God had promised them. The river assumes, therefore, an important symbolic character of passage from an existence of suffering to true life with God. Immediately, it will also acquire a meaning of purification that will return later in episodes of the Old and New Testaments. Furthermore, numerous references to the river are found in the Psalms as well.
The Christian tradition always identified that the place where John the Baptist poured the sacred waters on the head of Christ was located in the Jordanian part (Bethany) in a pool that forms in the Jordan River before flowing into the Dead Sea. Today the controversy continues as to whether it was on the Israeli or Jordanian side, although the latter have a clear advantage thanks to the multiple archaeological remains found between the shore and Mount Nebo and that do not appear on the other side. Also in this area is the 1933th-century Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint John, a Franciscan chapel from XNUMX, and the place where the baptism is supposed to have taken place (a stream called Wadi-Kharrar). According to the Gospel of Mark, it was the river where Jesus Christ was baptized. Saint Mark relates this fact in his Gospels as follows: "And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan." The same meanings appear in the New Testament, where the Jordan assumes even more symbolic importance with the Baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist, the Gospels say, lived in the desert (that of Judah) and baptized with water. Many went to listen to his words, to confess and to be baptized with water. However, Jesus will introduce something new, as John the Baptist himself announces in the Gospel of Matthew: “I baptize in water, and it is the way to conversion. But after me comes one with so much more power than me that I don't even deserve to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Mt 3, 11). After his baptism, Jesus will retire to fast for forty, above Jericho.
This place, which has been visited by the last three popes of the Church: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis I, is the lowest place on earth. There begins the public life of Jesus to rescue humanity symbolizing the descent of Jesus to the greatest depths of suffering, misery and human death for his salvation.
The history of the Jordan River is truly incredible, it is a land of miracles, where God appeared to his people and where the Holy Trinity manifested itself.
Come with us in our pilgrimages to israel To visit him!!
