Unisex · Hebrew · Both Testaments · classic · Across all biblical eras
Jordan
/JOR-dun/
יַרְדֵּן
"To descend; flowing down; the descender"
Joshua 3:17
RolePlace name — Israel's defining river
Etymology
From the Hebrew root 'yarad' (יָרַד), meaning to descend or to go down. The Jordan River descends from Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea — the lowest point on earth. The name captures the river's defining characteristic: it goes down.
Who they were
The Jordan is the most significant river in the Bible. It was the final barrier between the wilderness and the promised land — Israel crossed it under Joshua on dry ground, the waters piling up in a heap, in a deliberate echo of the Red Sea crossing. Naaman the Syrian general washed in the Jordan seven times and was healed of leprosy. Elijah struck its waters with his cloak and they parted. Elisha did the same. Most significantly, Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan, and as he came up from the water, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and a voice said, 'This is my Son, whom I love.' The Jordan became the archetypal image of crossing over — from slavery to freedom, from old life to new, from death to resurrection. In Christian hymnody, 'crossing Jordan' means death and entry into the promised land of heaven. The river itself is modest — narrow, muddy, unimpressive by the standards of the Nile or the Euphrates — which makes its symbolic weight all the more striking. Great things happen at small rivers.
Character qualities
- Threshold between old and new
- Site of baptism and healing
Where they appear
Themes
Variants & related forms
Jordyn · Jordon · Yarden
Read their story
Jordan's story begins in Joshua.
The full passage is at Joshua 3:17. Any modern translation will do — the NLT and NIV are the most readable; the ESV and NKJV stay close to the wording the church has used for centuries.
Find a Bible to read it in →