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יַרְדֵּן

𐤉𐤓𐤃𐤍

Yareden

H3383 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ירד to descend, go down

Definition

Proper name: The Jordan, a major river running north-south through the Levant, serving as a significant geographic, cultural, and symbolic boundary in the Hebrew Bible. In narrative, poetic, and legal texts, 'Yarden' typically refers to the river itself but may occasionally denote the adjoining region.

Semantic Range

The Jordan River, boundary or crossing point, sometimes the region adjacent to the river; rarely extended metaphorically to transition or crossing points in narrative.

Root / Etymology

From the verb יָרַד (yarad, 'to descend'), with the -ֵן (en) ending forming a noun. Thus, יַרְדֵּן (Yarden) probably means 'the descender,' referencing the river's steep gradient from its sources in the north to its terminus at the Dead Sea. The name is structurally a toponym derived from the action of descending.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, יַרְדֵּן (Yarden) consistently refers to the river as the eastern boundary of the land settled by the Israelite tribes. It serves as a physical and symbolic barrier, most prominently in the narratives of crossing into the land (Joshua, Judges) and in demarcations of tribal inheritances. Closely associated with themes of transition, liminality, and territorial claims. The term rarely, if ever, extends to residents or lands adjacent to the river; these are instead described with other terms (e.g., עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן, 'across the Jordan'). Later Greek and Latin traditions transliterated it as Iordanes/Iordan, and English translations as 'Jordan.' Rabbinic and postbiblical sources increasingly use the name as a regional marker. The etymology as 'descender' fits both its root and its topographic profile. Standard English translation as 'Jordan' reflects a proper name but does not convey the original descriptive sense of 'the descender.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from יָרַד; a descender; Jarden, the principal river of Palestine; Jordan.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ירד (y-r-d) — to descend, go down

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3381 יָרַד in my bringing down
H3382 יֶרֶד Descent
H4174 מוֹרָד on the descent-slope

Word Forms

9 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3383-02 הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֔ן hayareden HTd/Np the Jordan the Descender 145
H3383-09 יַרְדֵּ֥ן yareden HNp Jordan Descender 9
H3383-04 לַ/יַּרְדֵּ֖ן layareden HRd/Np the Jordan to the Descender 9
H3383-01 בַּ/יַּרְדֵּ֖ן bayareden HRd/Np in the Jordan in the Descender 6
H3383-05 לְ/יַרְדֵּ֥ן leyareden HR/Np the Jordan to Yarden the Descender 5
H3383-03 הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֔נָ/ה hayaredenah HTd/Np/Sd to the Jordan toward the Descender 4
H3383-07 וְ/הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֣ן vehayareden HC/Td/Np and the Jordan and the Descender 3
H3383-08 ב/ירדן vyrdn HR/Np the Jordan in the Descender 1
H3383-06 מִ/יַּרְדֵּ֣ן miyareden HR/Np from Jordan from the Descender 1

Occurrences in Scripture

183 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3383-02 Genesis 13:10 הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֔ן hayareden HTd/Np of the Jordan the Descender
H3383-02 Genesis 13:11 הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֔ן hayareden HTd/Np of the Jordan the Descender
H3383-02 Genesis 32:11 הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֣ן hayareden HTd/Np the Jordan the Descender
H3383-02 Genesis 50:10 הַ/יַּרְדֵּ֔ן hayareden HTd/Np the Jordan the Descender
H3383-02 Genesis 50:11 הַ/יַּרְדֵּֽן hayareden HTd/Np the Jordan the Descender
H3383-02 Numbers 13:29 הַ/יַּרְדֵּֽן hayareden HTd/Np of the Jordan the Descender
H3383-05 Numbers 22:1 לְ/יַרְדֵּ֥ן leyareden HR/Np the Jordan to Yarden the Descender
H3383-09 Numbers 26:3 יַרְדֵּ֥ן yareden HNp the Jordan Descender
H3383-09 Numbers 26:63 יַרְדֵּ֥ן yareden HNp Jordan Descender
H3383-09 Numbers 31:12 יַרְדֵּ֥ן yareden HNp Jordan Descender
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