In
Israel Yisrael ישראל
the river Jordan
in Hebrew is:
Yarden ירדן
Meaning:
The Descender
Strong’s Hebrew: 3383. יַרְדֵּן (Yarden) — the principal …
The spring – maqor – חָכְמָה
Strong’s Hebrew: 4726. מָקוֹר (maqor) — a spring, fountain
Ayin – eye – עַ֫יִן
Strong’s Hebrew: 5869. עַ֫יִן (ayin) — an eye
Dove – יוֹנִים – yonah
Strong’s Hebrew: 3123. יוֹנִים (yonah) — dove
But how are they all connected?
To answer this question, our walk/halak/הֲלַךְ
Strongs 1981 halak/הֲלַךְ:
brought, come, go, walk, walking.
brings us to most important river in the land of Israel,
the Yar•den, ירדן, the Jordan River.
Phonetic Spelling: yar-dane’
The name
Yarden/Yardaen/Jordan
comes from the common verb
ירד yarad meaning:
to descend, to go down:
either literally down a mountain or
figuratively away from a place of prominence.
The noun מורד morad means:
descent or refers to something that hangs.
The Jordan River has its source
at Mount Hermon in the northernmost part of Israel,
Mount Hermon,
rises to around 9,232 ft. (2,813 m.) above sea level.
The Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee,
and then out and
descends on down
southward to the Dead Sea.
Genesis 13:10.
The name Galilee is the Anglicized version of the Greek name Galilaia (Γαλιλαια), which means: Region, Rolling;
which in turn is the Hellenized version of the
Hebrew name Galil גליל or Galilah גלילה,
as it is called in 2 Kings 15:29.
From the verb גלל galal, to roll or encircle.
Dead sea ים־המלח Yam-hamelah means:
Salt sea,
from the noun ים yam:sea, west or future,
and the noun מלח melah, salt.
Because of the geography of the terrain, this river is
continuously descending
and notably the most southern part of the river has the lowest elevation of any river in the world. Its total length is about 125 miles (200km).
Today Yar•den, ירדן Jordan, is also a country, however during biblical times, this land was referred to as a region, which was mostly the land on the east side of the river. This area was under the control of the British from 1921-1946 and was called Transjordan.
The Jordan/Yarden is also frequently mentioned in the
Brit Chadashah/New Testament in Greek spelled Ιορδανης, Iordanes.
Biblically speaking, the Yarden/Jordan River played an important strategic role and it is mentioned several times as the eastern border of the land of Canaan/ כנען.
Canaan comes from the term kinahnu
meaning: purple dye; from the verb
כנע kana: to be brought into synchronicity.
The water was always
flowing/going down/descending from
Mt Hermon
חרמון
the name comes from the verb
חרם haram,
to designate or consign to the afterlife.
The
flowing/going down/descending
is simply because the principle source of the Jordan/Yarden is from the precipitation/rainfall on Mount Hermon; as well as three contributing springs. It also receives water from two tributaries; the Jabbok is the only one mentioned by name in Scripture.
Further answering this question of how they are all connected, takes us on a journey to a place called
in Hebrew
Aeiynon
and
Ain-Yon in Aramaic.
First of all we need to note that there is a site on the Jordan River in Israel where many 1000’s of people have travelled in pilgrimage to be baptised/immersed, believing that this is where Yeshua/Jesus was baptized/immersed by John/Yocahannon.
Photo above of the Yardenit Baptismal Site which is located just a few hundred yards/meters west of Hwy. 90, on a pretty stretch of the Jordan/Yarden River near the southern tip of Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Galilee.
We are familiar with the traditional pictures but it may not be the exact location where Yeshua/Jesus was immersed!?
Lake of Gennesaret is named after the ancient town of Gennesaret, also called Ginosar, on its northwestern shore. While it is a lake and not a sea, Lake of Gennesaret is also called Sea of Galilee, as well as Sea of Tiberias after the resort city of Tiberias that Herod the Great built on its western shore and named after Caesar Tiberias to gain favor with his Roman overlord.
Above is the entrance to Yardenit,
which in Hebrew means Little Jordan.
John 3:22 After these things Yeshua/Jesus and His disciples/Talmidim came into the land of Judaea/Yehudah; and there he remained with them, and immersed;
Immerse is baptize/baptizo in Greek,
and yitbol/tevilah in Hebrew.
These are the traditional sites
but what does the scripture say?
John 3:23
And Yochanan/John was also immersing;
baptizo, yitbol/tevilah
in Aeiynon.
near to the Salim, because there was
much (polus in Greek, le’rav in Hebrew)
water (hudor in Greek, mayimin Hebrew) there:
and they came, and were
immersed baptizo, yitaveilu/tevilah.
Strong’s Hebrew: 4325. מָ֫יִם (mayim) — waters, water
מיים חיים
Mayyim Hayyim
is Hebrew for
living waters
baptized.
ἐβάπτιζεν (ebaptizen)
Verb – Imperfect Indicative Active – 3rd Person Singular
Strong’s 907: Lit: I dip, submerge, but specifically of ceremonial dipping; I baptize
We known from John 4:2 that it was not Yeshua/Jesus but His disciples/talmidim, who performed the immersions. The immersion attributed to Yeshua/Jesus is the immersion He makes possible. Simply put, His immersion teaching was manifest in practical terms by way of the participation of His disciples/talmidim.
Here the Hebrew immersion is
טבילה tevilah
Tevilah is the Biblical act of immersing oneself in a natural living water source for ritual cleansing of sin; and symbolizing death to the self-centered ego and rebirth to a new spiritual life of selfless love; in harmony with the principles of God’s law of love – Torah.
In ancient times a stream or river was used, but in modern times a specially constructed pool called a mikveh is normally used
Mikveh or mikvah
מִקְוֶה / מקווה,
מַקְוֶה Miqveh –
pronounced: mik veh
and means:
abiding, gathering together, hope, plenty of water, pool.
While the word מקוה – miqveh means pool in Biblical Hebrew, the modern Hebrew word for a pool is בריכה – beriykhah,
which comes from the verb
ברך meaning: to kneel.
The word Miqveh in Hebrew also means hope.
When we submit/kneel to His commandments…
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
..we have hope for a positive outcome and this hope/tiqvah becomes the anchor/o’gehn of our faith/emunah.
https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-secret-of-the-ogehn-of-tiqvah/
https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-secret-of-ogehn-of-tiqvah-part-2/
H4723 Original: מּקוא מקוה מקוה
Transliteration: miqveh miqvêh miqvê’
other Definitions as well as hope are:
ground of hope. things hoped for, outcome, collection, gathering together, pool {mik-vay’};
from qavah; something waited for:
i.e. Confidence (objective or subjective);
also a collection, i.e. (of water) a pond.
ה טָבַל Tabalah immersion = sinking until covered completely with water.
טָבַל Tabal tawbal = to dip dipped plunge/Baptism.
Biblical Hebrew uses the root:
ṭaval טבל – for immersion.
The definition of tevilah is:
full body immersion in a mikvah, is the biblical act of
immersing oneself
in a natural living water source, ritual washing in water for ritual cleansing of sin and symbolizing death to the self life.
Ritual immersion – tevilah mayyim hayyim
The identification of the site of Aenon, near Saleim,
does not finally confirm the place where He was staying/tarrying
or the ministry of immersion.
We are expressly told, both here and in John 4:3, that it was
in Judaea, not Samaria,
that Jesus/Yeshua tarried there with them, and was immersing/baptizing. The words suggest a longer stay, and a type of ministry which after that time He laid aside.
Aenon in John 4:3 is said to be near Salim: it was the name of a city, as some think; others say, a river or brook near that city: neither the river nor the city are elsewhere mentioned in Scripture.
It has been placed by topographers as being on the eastern part of the land of Manasseh, not far from Beth-shan or Scythopolis.
There John was baptizing; because this Aenon was a brook or river that had much water, which in Judea was rare.
John the Baptist,
He is sometimes alternatively called
John the Baptizer
יוחנן המטביל
The name John
is a theophoric name originating from the Hebrew name:
יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānān,
the Hebrew original, Johanan,
or in its longer form יְהוֹחָנָן Yəhôḥānān.
-
From יה (yah), the shortened name of the Lord,
-
and the verb חנן (hanan), to be gracious or to favor.
The meaning: Yah or, Yahweh has been gracious.
The Hebrew name was adopted as:
Ἰωάννης Iōánnēs in Biblical Greek.
also means:
YHVH gracious giver or gift of God.
Where is Aeiyon/Aenon near to the Salim?
The locality is described as
Αἰνὼν ἐγγὺς τοῦ Σαλείμ.
“The Salim of this place is no doubt the
Shalem of Genesis 33:18,
and some seven miles north is ’Ainûn [= Springs], at the head of the Wâdy Fâr’ah, which is the great highway up from the Damieh ford for those coming from the east by the way of Peniel and Succoth” (Henderson’s Palestine, p. 154).
The reason for choosing this locality was
ὅτι ὕδατα πολλὰ ἦν ἐκεῖ,
“because many waters were there,’
or much water;
and therefore even in summer
baptism by immersion
could continue.
The focus was not for the people’s refreshment to cool down in the heat of summer.
Aeiynon means:
Ayin = eye, spring;
Yonah = dove;
So
Ain-Yon in Aramaic means:
Spring/Eye of a Dove
Now we see how they are connected!
But where is this spring/eye of a dove?
Aeiynon – Aenon
The proposed location of Aenon
is on the west side of the
Jordan/Yarden river,
close to a natural spring
and near the ancient town of Salim.
(Not to be confused with Salem, a synonym for Jerusalem).
Aenon is approximately 95 km north east of Jerusalem (20 hrs. walk). Being located near a natural spring meant an abundance of water and large pools suitable for ritual immersion known as tevilah; recall, the gathered waters used for immersion are known as mikveh.
This location is on the
opposite side
of the Jordan river from where
Yochanan/John had been immersing.
Both the Hebrew and Aramaic names
for this location mean
Spring/Eye of a Dove.
This of course correlates to Yochanan/John identifying Yeshua/Jesus as the
One upon Whom the Spirit will descend like a dove John.1:32-33.
It is no less significant that there is a
physical spring
near to the location and that a
spring is a source of
mayim chayim =
living waters from a pure source.
It would seem that the eye of the earth bears witness to the King, Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, and reveals Him and His living waters to the eye of the believer?
and they came, and were immersed
The, they consisted of Jews from many sects and regions, including those from the ruling Judean religious class, referred to in the following verse. John 3:23
And John was also baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there were many waters there: and they came and were baptized BAPTIZO, immersed.
In Enon –
The word Enon, or Aenon, means:
a fountain;
and was probably the reason the name was given to this place due to the fountains there.
Above in the center of the picture, a natural spring, bubbling up into a small fountain. Reminding us of Jesus/Yeshua words in John 4:14 14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.
Near to Salim
John 3:23
It would seem from this, that Salim was better known then than Enon, but nothing can be determined now respecting its site. Eusebius places it 8 Roman miles south of Scythopolis or Bethshan, and 53 miles northeast of Jerusalem.
