Bridge over the Jordan
Jesus on his way southward was rejected by the Samaritans, and it is supposed that He and his company turned eastward and passed over the Jordan and through Bethshean and then turned southward, passing down on the eastern side of the sacred river. It was during this time while in Peræa that Jesus sent forth the seventy.—Luke 10:1–16. During his journey he gave the parable of the good Samaritan—Luke 10:25–37; taught the disciples how to pray—Luke 11:1–13; healed a man blind, dumb and possessed—Matthew 12:22–23; Luke 11:14; pronounced woe upon the Pharisees—Luke 11:37–44; gave the parable of the rich fool—Luke 12:13–21; gave the parable of the barren fig tree—Luke 13:6–9; healed an infirm woman upon the Sabbath—Luke 13:10–17; gave the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven—Luke 13:18–21; goes on teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem and is warned against Herod. We have in the above picture a representation of a bridge over the Jordan. This is a modern bridge, and not very permanent. This is not one of the pictures of our artist, but was secured for the writer by our American consul at Jerusalem. Till the Romans came there were no bridges in Palestine. “Like the name for fort, the name for bridge does not occur in the Old Testament, probably because the thing itself was unknown.” But two ancient bridges span the River Jordan. The one Jisr Benât Yacob—the bridge of Jacob’s daughter. The Jisr el-Magamia is the one over the Jordan south of Lake Tiberias. It is built of trap rock and has one grand central arch with three small ones, and beneath them rushes the Jordan on its hurried passage to the Dead Sea.
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