Transjordan (Hebrew:עבר הירדן,Ever HaYarden) is an area of land in theSouthern Levant lying east of theJordan River valley. It is also alternatively calledGilead.
In theHebrew Bible, the term used to refer to the futureTransjordan isHebrew:עבר הירדן (Ever HaYarden), "beyond the Jordan". This term occurs, for example, in theBook of Joshua (1:14). It was used by people on the west side of the Jordan, including the biblical writers, to refer to the other side of the Jordan River.
In theSeptuagint, theHebrew:בעבר הירדן מזרח השמש (מזרחית לנהר הירדן),romanized: hay·yar·dên miz·raḥ,lit. 'beyond the Jordan towards the sunrise'[1] is translated toAncient Greek:πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου,,romanized: translit. péran toú Jordánou,,lit. 'beyond the Jordan'.
The term was translated toLatin:trans Iordanen,lit. 'beyond the Jordan' in theVulgate Bible.[2] However some authors give theHebrew:עבר הירדן,romanized: Ever HaYarden,lit. 'beyond the Jordan', as the basis for Transjordan, which is also the modern Hebrew usage.[3] The prefixtrans- isLatin and means "across" or beyond, so "Transjordan" refers to the landon the other side of theJordan River. The equivalent Latin term for the west side is theCisjordan - literally, "on this side of the [River] Jordan".
The term "East", as in "towards the sunrise", is also used inArabic:شرق الأردن,romanized: Sharq al ʾUrdun,lit. 'East of the Jordan'.
TheBook of Numbers (chapter32) tells how the tribes ofReuben andGad came toMoses to ask if they could settle “beyond the Jordan”. Moses was dubious, but the two tribes promise to join in theconquest of the land, and so Moses grants them this region to live in. The half tribe ofManasseh are not mentioned until verse 33.David Jobling suggests that this is because Manasseh settled in land which previously belonged toOg, north of theJabbok, while Reuben and Gad settledSihon's land, which lay south of the Jabbok. Since Og's territory was not on the route to Canaan, it was "more naturally part of the Promised Land", and so the Manassites' status is less problematic than that of the Reubenites or Gadites.[dubious –discuss][4]
In theBook of Joshua (1),Joshua affirms Moses' decision, and urges the men of the two and a half tribes to help in the conquest, which they are willing to do. In Joshua 22, the Transjordanian tribes return, and build amassive altar by the Jordan. This causes the "whole congregation of the Israelites" to prepare for war, but they first send a delegation to the Transjordanian tribes, accusing them of making God angry and suggesting that their land may be unclean. In response to this, the Transjordanian tribes say that the altar is not for offerings, but is only a "witness". The western tribes are satisfied, and return home. Assis argues that the unusual dimensions of the altar suggest that it "was not meant for sacrificial use," but was, in fact, "meant to attract the attention of the other tribes" and provoke a reaction.[5]
Per the settlement of the Israelite tribes east of the Jordan, Burton MacDonald notes;
There are various traditions behind the Books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and 1 Chronicles’ assignment of tribal territories and towns to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Some of these traditions provide only an idealized picture of Israelite possessions east of the Jordan; others are no more than vague generalizations. Num 21.21–35, for example, says only that the land the people occupied extended fromWadi Arnon toWadi Jabbok, the boundary of the Amorites.[6]
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There is some ambiguity about the status of the Transjordan in the mind of the biblical writers. Horst Seebass argues that in Numbers "one finds awareness of Transjordan as being holy toYHWH."[8] He argues for this on the basis of the presence of thecities of refuge there, and because land taken in aholy war is always holy.Richard Hess, on the other hand, asserts that "the Transjordanian tribes were not in the land of promise."[9]Moshe Weinfeld argues that in the Book of Joshua, the Jordan is portrayed as "a barrier to thepromised land,"[7] but inDeuteronomy1:7 and11:24, the Transjordan is an "integral part of the promised land."[10]
Unlike the othertribal allotments, the Transjordanian territory was not divided by lot.Jacob Milgrom suggests that it is assigned by Mosesrather than by God.[11]
Lori Rowlett argues that in the Book of Joshua, the Transjordanian tribes function as the inverse of theGibeonites (mentioned inJoshua 9). Whereas the former have the right ethnicity, but wrong geographical location, the latter have the wrong ethnicity, but are "within the boundary of the 'pure' geographical location."[12]
According to the Hebrew Bible,Ammon andMoab were nations that occupied parts of Transjordan in ancient times.
According toGenesis, (19:37–38), Ammon and Moab were descendants ofLot by Lot's two daughters, in the aftermath of the destruction ofSodom and Gomorrah. The Bible refers to both the Ammonites and Moabites as the "children of Lot", which may also translate as “descendants of Lot”. Throughout the Bible, the Ammonites and Israelites are portrayed as mutual antagonists. During theExodus, the Israelites were prohibited by the Ammonites from passing through their lands (Deuteronomy 23:4). In theBook of Judges, the Ammonites work withEglon, king of the Moabites against Israel. Attacks by the Ammonites on Israelite communities east of the Jordan were the impetus behind the unification of the tribes underSaul (1 Samuel 11:1–15).
According to bothBooks of Kings (14:21–31) andBooks of Chronicles (12:13),Naamah was an Ammonite. She was the only wife of KingSolomon to be mentioned by name in theTanakh as having borne a child. She was the mother of Solomon's successor,Rehoboam.[13]
The Ammonites presented a serious problem to thePharisees because many marriages with Ammonite (and Moabite) wives had taken place in the days ofNehemiah (Nehemiah 13:23). The men had married women of the various nations without conversion, which made the children not Jewish.[14] The legitimacy ofDavid's claim to royalty was disputed on account of his descent fromRuth, the Moabite.[15] King David spent time in the Transjordan after he had fled from the rebellion of his sonAbsalom (2 Samuel 17–19).
בעבר הירדן מזרח השמש (en: Beyond the Jordan, the sun rises.)
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