There’s no doubt that Israel is the crown jewel of the Holy Land.
After all, Israel boasts Jerusalem, the Galilee, Capernaum, Nazareth and more.
Yet, Jordan is so often ignored. Why is that?
People often forget that lying in Jordan is a treasure of Biblical sites including:
- Mount Nebo: where Moses looked into the Promised Land
- Bethany Beyond the Jordan: (a more authentic site than Yardenit for John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism)
- Machaerus: (King Herod’s Palace where John the Baptist was beheaded)
- The Jordan River: (Mark 1:5; Joshua 3; 2 Kings 2:3-14)
- The Dead Sea: (Genesis 14:3; Ezekiel 47:7-12)
- Cities of the Decapolis: (Matthew 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31)
- Amman: (Genesis 19:38; Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 2:19; 2 Samuel 11; Ezekiel 25:5)
- Jabbok River: (where Jacob wrestles with the angel. Now modern-day Zarqa River.)
- The King’s Way: Numbers 20:17; 21:22
- Madaba: Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9; Isaiah 15:2
- Moab (homeland of the Moabite people including Ruth, the great grandmother of David)
- Gilead: (where Tishbe, home of the prophet Elijah, and the Kerith Ravine are located)
- Wadi Mujib (where the Biblical Arnon river flows: Numbers 21:13-26; Deuteronomy 3:8; Judges 11:18)
- Petra and the Nabataeans:
- Matthew 2:11 (The Magi may have purchased their frankincense and myrrh in Petra on their way to see Jesus. Petra was renowned in the frankincense and myrrh trade and these valuable gifts are found in the Arabian Gulf, not Persia, where the Magi traveled from. Petra is on the route to Bethlehem from Persia.)
- 2 Corinthians 11:32 (The reference is to King Aretas IV of Petra.)
- Galatians 1:17 (When Paul speaks of going into “Arabia” he is most likely referring to the Nabataean Kingdom.).
- Matthew 2:11 (The Magi may have purchased their frankincense and myrrh in Petra on their way to see Jesus. Petra was renowned in the frankincense and myrrh trade and these valuable gifts are found in the Arabian Gulf, not Persia, where the Magi traveled from. Petra is on the route to Bethlehem from Persia.)
One of the refreshing things about the Biblical sites in Jordan is that they are not covered up by layer upon layer of civilizations until you truly have no idea how far down you have to go before you see the site.
They are also not gilded and covered over. They are raw. They are beautiful.
If you haven’t considered visiting the Biblical sites in Jordan, it’s time to reconsider.
This is one of the reasons why we lead our Break Forth tours not just into Israel but also into Jordan. If you’re interested in checking out one of our tours, you can sign up for more information here.
