{"id":91,"date":"2014-06-20T12:00:39","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=91"},"modified":"2014-05-22T23:29:43","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T23:29:43","slug":"matthew-313-17-the-baptism-of-jesus-geographical-backgrounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/06\/matthew-313-17-the-baptism-of-jesus-geographical-backgrounds.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 3:13-17; The Baptism of Jesus (Geographical Backgrounds)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jordan River figures prominently in Biblical history, but the river itself isn’t as impressive as the events that surround it. Still, covering about 70 miles in length, it\u2019s the biggest river in Israel and its waters feed a fertile valley situated between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Melting snow from Mount Hermon in Lebanon fills four streams north of the Sea of Galilee and, in turn, those streams fill the Jordan River with water.<\/p>\n

During the springtime flood season, the Jordan can become dangerous with deep, fast-moving currents, but for most of the rest of the year it remains fairly tame. It stretches about 90 feet across, and usually runs only from two to 10 feet deep. As such, it would have served as a convenient location for John the Baptist to conduct frequent baptismal services.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/a><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[WWA, 222]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Jordan River figures prominently in Biblical history, but the river itself isn’t as impressive as the events that surround it. Still, covering about 70 miles in length, it\u2019s the biggest river in Israel and its waters feed a fertile valley situated between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Melting snow from Mount…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,2],"tags":[62,69,302,70],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geographicalbackgrounds","category-matthew","tag-john-the-baptist","tag-jordan-river","tag-matthew","tag-mount-hermon"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 3:13-17; The Baptism of Jesus (Geographical Backgrounds) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/06\/matthew-313-17-the-baptism-of-jesus-geographical-backgrounds.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 3:13-17; The Baptism of Jesus (Geographical Backgrounds) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Jordan River figures prominently in Biblical history, but the river itself isn’t as impressive as the events that surround it. 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