Jabbok – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
Zarqa River
The
Zarqa River is the second largest tributary of the lower
Jordan River, after the
Yarmouk River. It is the third largest river in the region by annual discharge, and its watershed encompasses the most densely populated areas east of the Jordan River. It rises in springs near
Amman, and flows through a deep and broad valley (which is identified with the biblical Jabbok River) into the Jordan, at an elevation lower. The river is heavily polluted and its restoration is one of the top priorities for the Jordanian Ministry of the Environment.
Jabbok
evacuation; dissipation; wrestling
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869) , by Roswell D. Hitchcock.
About
Jabbok
(emptying), a stream which intersects the mountain range of Gilead, comp. (Joshua 12:2,5) and falls into the Jordan on the east about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. It was anciently the border of the children of Ammon. (Numbers 21:24; 2:37; 3:16) It was on the south bank of the Jabbok that the interview took place between Jacob and Esau, (Genesis 32:22) and this river afterward became, toward its western part, the boundary between the kingdoms of Sihon and Og. (Joshua 12:2,5) Its modern name is Wady Zurka .
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) , by William Smith.
About
Jabbok
a pouring out, or a wrestling, one of the streams on the east of Jordan, into which it falls about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, or about 45 miles below the Sea of Galilee. It rises on the eastern side of the mountains of Gilead, and runs a course of about 65 miles in a wild and deep ravine. It was the boundary between the territory of the Ammonites and that of Og, king of Bashan (Josh. 12:1-5; Num. 21:24); also between the tribe of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh (21:24; Deut. 3:16). In its course westward across the plains it passes more than once underground. "The scenery along its banks is probably the most picturesque in Palestine; and the ruins of town and village and fortress which stud the surrounding mountain-side render the country as interesting as it is beautiful." This river is now called the Zerka, or blue river.
