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TRANSJORDAN

An expression derived from Heb. ʿbr hyrdn (e.g., Josh. 12:1; Num. 34:14-15), variously translated “beyond the Jordan,” “the other side of the Jordan.” While technically it simply refers to the opposite side of the Jordan River from the perspective of the observer, it came to be associated almost exclusively with the region E of the Jordan Rift Valley from Mt. Hermon in the north to the Gulf of Aqabah/Elath in the south.

Geophysically, most of Transjordan is a high plateau that, although punctuated by marked undulations, gradually increases in height from north to south — from a low point of 400 m. (1310 ft.) in Bashan to the Moabite plateau which reaches above 1200 m. (3940 ft.). This plateau is anchored on the north by Mt. Hermon, whose elevation exceeds 2100 m. (6890 ft.), and in the south by the heights of Edom which exceed 1500 m. (4921 ft.). This central high plateau is bordered by the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Rift Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Arabah to the west and the desert to the east. It is also bisected east to west by four important rivers (from north to south): Wadi Yarmuk, Wadi Zerqa (biblical Jabbok), Wadi Môjib (Arnon), and Wadi el-µesa (Zered). While the highlands of Cisjordan create a “rainshadow” over the Jordan Rift Valley (meaning that little rain falls there), the mountains and high plateaus of Transjordan’s central ridge are elevated enough to induce precipitation. Rainfall generally decreases from north to south, although the increasing elevation of the mountains in Edom does attract a modest rainfall in the southern part of the country.

Occupation in Transjordan has been traced back to prehistoric cultures including the Old Stone Age, Middle Stone Age (Natufian), Neolithic, Chalcolithic, as well as Early Bronze. Some scholars believe that the famous “King’s Highway” (Heb. dereḵ hammeleḵ) that transected Transjordan’s north-south axis from Damascus to Aqaba (Num. 20:14-21) dates as early as this latter period (Gen. 14:1-16). For many years it was thought that there was a settlement hiatus between the end of EB IV and Iron I. However, extensive surveys in recent years have shown that, although settlement size and frequency do diminish during the MB and LB periods, the land was by no means unoccupied. Rather, there seems to have been a shift from sedentary modes of occupation to seminomadism and nomadism.

Ca. 1200 b.c.e. (the LB IIB–Iron IA transition) the archaeological evidence testifies to a dramatic resedentarization phase in Transjordan similar to what has been noted in western Palestine during this same time. Several villages and walled towns were established at this time. Recent work at Tell el-ʿUmeiri, S of Amman, has revealed perhaps one of the earliest of these Iron I highland settlements in either Cisjordan or Transjordan. The site was surrounded by a casemate wall. Within the casemates were numerous collar rim jars — well-known markers of the early settlement period in the highlands. At this same time, a number of regions and/or territories came to be identified within Transjordan. These included (from north to south) the regions of Bashan and Gilead (where the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh settled; cf. Num. 34:14-15; Josh. 12:6), and the lands of Ammon (within the upper tributaries of the Jabbok/Zerqa), Moab (N of Wadi Môjib to Wadi el-µesa — the area between the Wadi Môjib and Wadi el-µesa is sometimes referred to as the southern Moabite plateau or Kerak plateau), and Edom (S of the Wadi el-µesa).

There also appears to have been an Israelite enclave consisting mostly of the tribe of Reuben, sandwiched between Ammon and Moab, during much of the early part of the Iron Age. Israel also occupied for a time a stretch of the east side of the Jordan Valley, N of the Dead Sea, known as the plain of Moab. While the political boundaries of Ammon, Moab, and Edom generally coincided with the natural boundaries, varying political circumstances (which often included interaction with the kingdoms of Israel and Judah) did result in the movement of the political boundaries of these three Transjordanian kingdoms from time to time throughout the Iron Age (ca. 1200-550).

Toward the end of the Iron Age (8th-6th centuries), Transjordan’s local polities experienced a sequence of subjugation by powerful, nonlocal polities, beginning with the Assyrians (ca. 735-605), Babylonians (ca. 605-539), and Persians (ca. 539-333). After the Greek conquest of the Persians, Transjordan continued to be controlled by external powers, first the Ptolemies (ca. 333-198), then the Seleucids (ca. 198-153), Hasmoneans (153-63), and Romans (ca. 63). During the Roman period, the Nabateans were dominant in the former heartland of Edom with Petra as their capital. However, they were eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire ca. 106 c.e. After the Byzantine period (ca. 325-632), the Muslims conquered the region.

Important excavations have been undertaken at many sites in Transjordan which are associated with biblical history. These include Abila, Umm el-Qais, Jerash, Pella, the Amman citadel, ʿIraq el-Emir, Hisban/Heshbon, Mt. Nebo, Mukawir/Mechaerus, Dhībān/Dibon, ʿAraʿir/Aroer, Kerak/Kir Moab, Buseira/Bozrah, and Petra/Umm el-Biyarah. Many other major excavations of sites that date to the biblical period but are of uncertain identification have also been conducted. These include Umm ad-Dananir, Tell Safut, Rujm Malfuf, Tell Deir ʿAlla, Tell Iktanu, Tell Jawa, Tell Mazar, Tell Nimrin, Tell Siran, Tell Sahab, Tell el-ʾUmeiri, Tell Jalul, Ader, Baluʾa, Khirbet al-Medeineh, Lehun, Bab edh-Dhra, Feifa, Ghrareh, Khirbet Khanazir, Tawilan, and Tell el-Kheleifeh.

Important and interesting archaeological finds from the biblical periods include a number of Ammonite statues and crowned busts found at or near Amman, the anthropomorphic sarcophagi in tombs at and near Amman, and a number of important inscriptions. The more important inscriptions include the Amman citadel inscription, the Tell Siran bottle inscription (which included the names of two kings named Amminadab), the Balaam inscription from Deir ʿAlla in the Jordan Valley, and the Mesha inscription (also known as the Moabite Stone) from Dhībān.

Two important stela from Transjordan are the Baluʿa stela (ca. 1200) from north of Kerak, and the Shihan Warrior stela from Rujm el-Abd. The Baluʾa stela depicts three figures in a local, imitation Egyptian style, apparently representing some formal inauguration ceremony. The upper part of the stela contained an inscription that is no longer legible. The Shihan Warrior stela appears to depict a warrior god holding a spear. The figure is similar to depictions of the Canaanite god Baal.

Transjordan has also yielded a considerable number of seals from Ammon, Moab, and Edom. The corpus is now large enough that it is usually possible to identify seals as Ammonite, Moabite, or Edomite by both linguistic and paleographic characteristics. The gods of these three kingdoms are often represented on the seals as theophoric elements of people’s names: Milcom for Ammon, Chemosh for Moab, and Qos for Edom. The vast majority of these seals and seal impressions date to Iron II (8th to 6th centuries).

Randall W. Younker

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TRANSJORDAN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)