Ferry Boat

Ferry boat appears in 2 Samuel 19:18 in the account of David's return to Jerusalem after Absalom's rebellion, when the men of Judah used a crossing vessel to bring the king's household and his followers over the Jordan River. The Hebrew word (abara) describes a kind of flat-bottomed boat or raft used to transport people and goods across the river at the numerous fords of the Jordan.

Isaiah 18:2 references vessels of papyrus ("swift messengers" in "vessels of bulrushes") used for river travel, giving a sense of the light reed-bundle boats common in the region. River crossings were strategically significant in biblical history: control of the Jordan fords gave military advantage in several engagements (Judges 3:28; 12:5-6). The ferry boat of 2 Samuel 19 captures an intimate domestic moment — the restoration of the king's household — amid the political drama of David's return to power.