- Jabbok
Jabbok, "pouring out", is a river on the east side of the
Jordan River , one of the so-called torrent valleys. Its modern Arabic name, Zarqa, means "the blue river". It may also have this name because the river in its course touches the fortress of Zarqa on the route betweenDamascus andMecca .The headwaters of the Jabbok begin in
Amman and the river flows to the north before heading west. Rising on the eastern side of the mountains ofGilead , it runs a course of about 65 miles in a wild and deep ravine before flowing into theJordan River betweenGennesaret and theDead Sea .The Biblical
Jacob crossed the Jabbok on his way back to Israel, after leavingHarran . It leads west into theSukkot Valley , from where one crosses over the Jordan and can easily reachShechem , as Jacob eventually did. The biblical cities ofZaretan and Adam are also at the mouth of the valley.First mentioned in connection with the meeting of Jacob and
Esau and with the struggle of Jacob with the angel (Genesis 32:23 "et seq."). It was the boundary separating the territory of Reuben and Gad from that ofAmmon , the latter being described as lying along the Jabbok (Numbers 21:24;Deuteronomy 2:37, 3:16; Joshua 12:2). The territory ofSihon is described as extending "from Arnon unto Jabbok" (Numbers 21:24), and it was reclaimed later by the King of Ammon (Judges 11:13, 22).Eusebius ["Onomasticon", ed.Ferdinand Larsow andGustav Parthey , pp. 222, 224, Berlin, 1862.] places the river betweenGerasa and Philadelphia.The Jabbok is identified with the
Wadi orNahr al-Zarqa , a river that rises inMount Hauran .Notes
References
*JewishEncyclopedia
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