Difference between revisions of "Jabbok"

<p> [[Jabbok]] (''Jăb'Bok'' ), ''Emptying.'' A stream rising about 25 miles east of the north end of the Dead sea, and flowing east, then northward and westward, and finally into the Jordan about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead sea. It is now called the Zerka or "blue" river. [[Across]] this stream Jacob sent his family, and here his wrestling for a blessing occurred. &nbsp;Genesis 32:22-24. The [[Israelites]] conquered the kingdoms of Og and Sihon, but not the Ammonite country nor the upper Jabbok, which explains &nbsp;Deuteronomy 2:37. Compare &nbsp;Numbers 21:24; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:16; &nbsp;Joshua 12:2; &nbsp;Judges 11:13; &nbsp;Judges 11:22. The Jabbok, before it enters the Jordan valley, flows through a deep, narrow ravine, the hills being from 1500 to 2000 feet in height. The stream abounds in small fish of excellent flavor. </p>

<p> (Heb. Yabbok', יִבֹּק, according to Simonis, ''Onomast.'' p. 315, a ''Pouring Out,'' by Chaldaism from בָּקִק; otherwise, for יְאִבֹּק, a ''Wrestling,'' from אָבִק, a coincidence that seems alluded to in &nbsp;Genesis 32:24; Sept. Ι᾿αβώκ, but Ι᾿αβώχ in &nbsp;Genesis 32:22; [[Josephus]] Ι᾿άβακχος '', Ant.'' 4. 5, 2; Chald. יוּבְקָא, Targ.), one of the streams which traverse the [[Country]] east of the Jordan, and which, after a course nearly from east to west, between the districts of Merad and Belka (Seetzen, 18:427), falls into that river nearly midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, or about forty-five miles below the Lake of Tiberias, another outlet for. the water in time of freshets being situated a few miles higher up (Lynch, Exped. p. 253, and Map). It seems to rise in the [[Hauran]] mountains, and its whole course may be computed at sixty-five miles. It is mentioned in [[Scripture]] as the boundary which separated the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, or the territory of the Ammonites, from that of Og, king of [[Bashan]] (&nbsp;Joshua 12:1-5; &nbsp;Numbers 21:24; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 2:37; &nbsp;Judges 11:13; &nbsp;Judges 11:22); and it appears afterwards to have been the boundary between the tribe of [[Reuben]] and the half tribe of [[Manasseh]] (&nbsp;Numbers 21:6; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:16). The earliest notice of it occurs in &nbsp;Genesis 32:22, in the account of Jacob's mysterious struggle with [[Jehovah]] in its vicinity (south bank). </p> <p> According- to [[Eusebius]] it was between Gerasa (Jerash) and [[Philadelphia]] (Amman). Origen:(Opera, 2, 43) says it was known in his day by the name Jmnbice (Ι᾿αμβίκη or Ι᾿αμβύκη ). "The stream is important in a geographical point of view, and a knowledge of its topography helps us to understand more easily some passages of Scripture. It was the boundary between the Amorites and the Ammonites. We are told that after the defeat of Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Jazer, ‘ Israel possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong (&nbsp;Numbers 21:24). The Jabbok, flowing in a wild and deep ravine through the Gilead mountains, formed a strong natural frontier for the bordering principalities. It would seem that at the Exodus the Ammonites possessed the country eastward and northward of the upper sources and branches of the Jabbok, and that Sihon amid Og occupied the whole region between the Ammonites and the Jordan, extending as far north as the Sea of Galilee (&nbsp;Joshua 12:2-8; Josephus, ''Ant. 4,'' 5, 2 and 3). The Israelites conquered Sihon and Og, and took their kingdoms; and the possessions of the three tribes, thus acquired, extended from the Dead Sea to Hermon; but they were not permitted to touch the territory of Ammon (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 2:37; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:16). About fifteen miles from the Jordan the Jabbok forks, one branch coming down from [[Jerash]] on the north, and the other from Rabbath-Amman on the south; these branches formed the western frontier of the Ammonites, dividing them from the Amorites, and subsequently from the Israelites (Reland, ''Pel.'' p. 103). </p> <p> Previous to the Exodus the territory of the Ammonites was much more extensive, embracing the whole region between the Jabbok and the Amon; but the Amorites drove them out of that portion, and forced them into the mountains around the sources of the Jabbok, and into the plains eastward (&nbsp;Judges 11:13; &nbsp;Judges 11:22)" (Porter in Kitto, s.v.). It is now called the ''Zerka'' [or ''Wady Zurka'' ] (from its "blue" color, Robinson's ''Researches, 3,'' Append. p. 326; but, according to Schwarz, Palest. p. 52, from a fortress of the same name on the caravan route from [[Damascus]] to Mecca). Its sources are chiefly on the eastern side of the mountains of Gilead, and it also drains a portion of the high plateau of [[Arabia]] beyond. In its passage westward across the plains it more than once passes under ground. The upper branches and tributaries are mere winter streams. At the point where the two main branches from Jerash and Ammon unite, the stream becomes perennial, and often, after heavy rain, is a foaming, impassable torrent. "The ravine through which it flows is narrow, deep, and in places wild. Throughout nearly its whole course it is fringed by thickets of cane and oleander, and the large clustering flowers of the latter give the banks a gay and gorgeous appearance during the spring and early summer" (Porter, ''Handbook For S. And P.'' p. 310). [[Higher]] up, the sides of the ravine are clothed with forests of evergreen oak, pine, and arbutus; and the undulating forest glades are carpeted with green grass, and strewn with innumerable wild flowers. The scenery along the banks of the Jabbok is probably the most picturesque in Palestine; and the ruins of town, and village, and fortress which stud the surrounding mountain sides render the country as interesting as it is beautiful. The water is pleasant, and, the bed being rocky, the stream runs clear (Burckhardt's Syria, p. 347; Irby and Mangles, Travels, p. 319; Buckingham, Palestine, 1, 109; Lindsay, 2, 123). </p>

<p> ''''' jab´ok ''''' ( יבּק , <i> ''''' yabbōḳ ''''' </i> , "luxuriant river"): A stream in Eastern [[Palestine]] first named in the history of Jacob, as crossed by the patriarch on his return from Paddan-aram, after leaving Mahanaim (&nbsp; Genesis 32:22 ). On the bank of this river he had his strange conflict with an unknown antagonist. The Jabbok was the northern boundary of the territory of Sihon the Amorite (&nbsp;Numbers 21:24 ). It is also named as the border of Ammon (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:16 ). It is now called <i> '''''Nahr ez''''' </i> - <i> '''''Zerḳā''''' </i> , "river of blue," referring to the clear blue color of its water. It rises near to <i> '''''‛Ammān''''' </i> - R abbath Ammon - and makes a wide circuit, flowing first to the East, then to the Northwest, until it is joined by the stream from <i> '''''Wādy Jerash''''' </i> , at which point it turns westward, and flows, with many windings, to the Jordan, the confluence being just North of <i> '''''ed''''' </i> - <i> '''''Dāmiyeh''''' </i> . It drains a wider area than any other stream east of the Jordan, except the <i> '''''Yarmūk''''' </i> . The bed of the river is in a deep gorge with steep, and in many places precipitous, banks. It is a great cleft, cutting the land of Gilead in two. It is lined along its course by a luxuriant growth of oleander which, in season, lights up the valley with brilliant color. The length of the stream, taking no account of its innumerable windings, is about 60 miles. The mouth of the river has changed its position from time to time. In the lower reaches the vegetation is tropical. The river is fordable at many points, save when in full flood. The particular ford referred to in Gen 32 cannot now be identified. </p>