SOURCE OF THE JORDAN.
"The bank of the river is fringed with willow, tamarisk, and other trees and bushes, and there are several pretty spots here for forming a camp. We wanted to stay here for the night, but our guide had sent the tents by a short route from Mar Saba to the neighborhood of the ancient Jericho, and after a halt of an hour or so we mounted our horses and rode away from the river.
"Doctor Bronson says it is quite probable that the passage of the Jordan by the Israelites, described in Joshua iii. and iv., occurred at the bathing-place we have visited, or certainly not far from it. According to the biblical account they passed the river 'right against Jericho,' and this expression is supposed to mean that they crossed the Jordan at the point nearest to that city.
PASSAGE OF THE ISRAELITES.
"During our halt one of our party read the account of this interesting event while the rest listened. It was not at all difficult for us to imagine the scene when the Israelites came down from their camp in the hills of Moab, and took their position on the banks of the Jordan. Here they halted for the night, and on the next day, when all was ready, the ark of the covenant, borne on the shoulders of the priests, was advanced to the edge of the river; as the feet of the bearers touched the water it receded, and in a few minutes the bed of the stream was dry. Then the ark was carried to the middle of the channel, and it remained there in charge of the priests till the whole host had gone over.