02.17. Views across Jordan

Views across Jordan

Under the Roman administration of New Testament times, much of Israel’s former eastern territory fell within the districts of Decapolis and Perea. The inhabitants were mainly non-Jewish, which is reflected in an incident that occurred at Gadara, a place where the tableland drops suddenly into the Sea of Galilee. Jesus’ healing of two demon-possessed men brought him into conflict with local farmers when their pigs became possessed by the exorcized demons, rushed down the embankment, fell into the water and drowned.¹

Perea, further south, was a mainly Jewish area, and for this reason Jews travelling from Judea to Galilee often preferred to detour across the Jordan and through Perea rather than travel through Samaria. They commonly referred to Perea as ‘beyond Jordan’. John the Baptist preached there, and Jesus visited both Perea and Decapolis on several occasions. People from both regions became his followers.²

Bordering ancient Ammon to the south was its brother nation Moab, whose capital was Heshbon. The boundary between the two shifted from time to time, as did the boundary between Moab and Edom, the nation to its south. The reason for the shifting of these national boundaries was conquest by enemies, such as the Amorites and, subsequently, the Israelites. One natural boundary that featured in these conflicts was the Arnon River, which flows through a deep gorge into the Dead Sea.³ The territory of Moab, like that of Ammon to its north and Edom to its south, is now part of the nation
of Jordan. The tableland of Moab was the final camping place of the migrating Israelites in the time of Moses. Here, from the top of Mount Nebo, in the hilly region of Abarim, Moses looked across the Dead Sea and the Jordan River to the land of Canaan. He died before the Israelites crossed the river and he was buried nearby.⁴ 1. Matthew 8:28-34. Jews do not keep pigs.

2. Matthew 4:25; Matthew 19:1-2; Mark 7:31; John 1:28; John 3:26; John 10:40 3. Numbers 21:13; Numbers 21:24 Deuteronomy 3:12; Deuteronomy 3:16 4. Deuteronomy 32:49-50; Deuteronomy 34:1-6

Descent into Wadi el Mujib, the biblical Arnon River