Jordan a land of biblical sites

MICHELE MARR

As it is more often than not, the idea of Jordan as a biblical land

comes as a surprise. But Dia Al-Madani, director of the Hashemite

Kingdom of Jordan Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Baptism Site

Commission, calls it “the sunrise of faith,” for good reason.

It’s a key intersection of three of the world’s major religions --

Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- and it’s the keeper of many of

their archeological treasures, a number of them recently discovered

within the last hundred years or so, some as recently as 1996. Those

are the ones I enjoyed most on my visit.

One, a 6th century Byzantine mosaic map in Madaba, depicts

Jerusalem and dozens of other Holy Land sites, helping to establish

the locations and timeline of a wealth of biblical events. There’s an

enlightening interactive study of this map at https://198.62.75.1

/www1/ofm/mad /index.html.

Another site, Bethany beyond the Jordan -- open since 1996,

following Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel, continues to reveal

historical treasures that laid buried in what until recently were

fields of land mines. Among its finds are Tell Mar Elias, where the

prophet Elijah is said to have ascended to heaven and John the

Baptist is said to have lived and baptized. And also the place called

the Baptism Site, where it’s believed by many archeologists, scholars

and religious leaders that John baptized Jesus.

The Baptism Site is on the east bank of the Jordan River, east of

Jericho -- a short drive north from the Dead Sea and a 40-minute

drive southwest of Amman. Rustom Mkhjian described it as “one of the

places the Trinity met.” He means it was John the Baptist witnessed

the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as the Father announced, “This

is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

An engineer and a devout Armenian Christian, Mkhjian is in charge

of the restoration and preservation of El-Maghtas -- in English, the

Baptism Site -- in the Jordan valley, or Wadi Kharrar. His enthusiasm

for its fresh and biblically significant archeological finds is

irrepressible and infectious.

More than a few contemporary sources, including the Catholic

Encyclopedia, will continue to tell you that Bethany beyond the

Jordan, referred to in 28th verse of the first chapter of St. John’s

gospel account, “has shared the fate of many other Biblical sites

which have disappeared from the earth.”

Third-century Church father Origen argued there never was “a place

along the Jordan which [had] anything in common with the name

Bethany.” He lobbied instead, along with Jerome, Eusebius, and

Chrysostom, to replace “Bethany” in the text with “Bethabara,” a

place mentioned in the Book of Judges, chapter 7, verse 24, in

association with “watering places” and Jordan.

The entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia also claims,

“Archaeological research has failed to identify either Bethany or

Bethabara beyond the Jordan.” Then it concedes, “All things

considered, the most probable opinion is that there was a Bethany 15

furlongs from Jerusalem [the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha], and

another across the Jordan.”

“Walking in Their Sandals,” the website for a virtual tour of the

Holy Land, relates, “There is a strong tradition from the Byzantine

period for locating the place of John’s baptism some 50 yards from

the east bank of the Jordan River, just north of where it enters the

Dead Sea. There is no archaeological evidence for this site,

however.”

Digs in the Jordan Valley since 1996 have changed that thought.

Mkhjian won’t tell you what to believe about what’s been found

there; he’ll tell you, repeatedly, he can’t do that.

But he will tell you, for as long as he has time and as long as

you are willing to listen, why he believes the existence of the place

-- that place of Byzantine tradition and long described in pilgrims’

diaries -- roughly 50 yards from the east bank of the Jordan River,

just north of where it enters the Dead Sea where John baptized, has

become a reality very difficult to dispute.

* MICHELE MARR can be reached at [email protected].