Ford

A ford is a shallow crossing point in a river where people and animals can wade across. The fords of the Jordan River were numerous — perhaps fifty or more — and appear frequently in biblical narrative as strategic military and geographical features. Control of the Jordan fords gave decisive tactical advantage, as demonstrated when the Ephraimites were cut off at the fords and slaughtered by Jephthah's Gileadites after failing the shibboleth test (Judges 12:5-6).

Ehud escaped across the Jordan fords after assassinating Eglon (Judges 3:28); the spies sent by Joshua were sought at the fords (Joshua 2:7); and Jacob crossed the ford of the Jabbok in the night of his wrestling with God (Genesis 32:22). The fords of the Arnon are mentioned in Isaiah 16:2. The strategic importance of river crossings in an era before bridges gave ford control a military significance that repeatedly shaped the outcomes of biblical campaigns.