Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

YARMUK

Šerīʿat el-Menādireh, the northernmost of the major perennial rivers in Transjordan. Separating Bashan from northern Gilead, the river and its tributaries drain both Bashan and Hauran. From the confluence of three of its major tributaries (Wadi el-Meddān, Wadi el-Ehreir, and Wadi eš-Šallāla) at Maqarin to the Jordan River, the Yarmuk is ca. 35 km. (22 mi.) long. The Yarmuk joins the Jordan ca. 6.5 km. (4 mi.) S of the Sea of Galilee where both are at this point ca. 9 m. (29.5 ft.) wide. At this junction the Yarmuk is deeper and carries almost as much water as the Jordan itself.

While the north side of the river and its tributaries have spacious terraces descending from the upper slopes, the southern side is for the most part very steep with considerable overgrowth. Thus, there is more usable land on the northern side of the Yarmuk Valley.

The Yarmuk is not mentioned in the Bible, though it is possibly the “brook” of 1 Macc. 5:40. It is first mentioned by Pliny (Nat. hist.) in the 1st century a.d.

Bibliography. K. Yassine, T. M. Kerestes, B. G. Wood, and J. M. Lundquist, “An Archaeological Survey of Three Reservoir Areas in Northern Jordan, 1978,” ADAJ 22 (1978): 108-35.

Paul J. Ray, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

YARMUK

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)