Jericho,

7 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Jericho
       n : a village in Jordan near the north end of the Dead Sea; in
           the Old Testament it was the first place taken by the
           Israelites under Joshua as the entered the Promised Land

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:



  Jericho
     place of fragrance, a fenced city in the midst of a vast grove
     of palm trees, in the plain of Jordan, over against the place
     where that river was crossed by the Israelites (Josh. 3:16). Its
     site was near the 'Ain es-Sultan, Elisha's Fountain (2 Kings
     2:19-22), about 5 miles west of Jordan. It was the most
     important city in the Jordan valley (Num. 22:1; 34:15), and the
     strongest fortress in all the land of Canaan. It was the key to
     Western Palestine.
     
       This city was taken in a very remarkable manner by the
     Israelites (Josh. 6). God gave it into their hands. The city was
     "accursed" (Heb. herem, "devoted" to Jehovah), and accordingly
     (Josh. 6:17; comp. Lev. 27:28, 29; Deut. 13:16) all the
     inhabitants and all the spoil of the city were to be destroyed,
     "only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of
     iron" were reserved and "put into the treasury of the house of
     Jehovah" (Josh. 6:24; comp. Num. 31:22, 23, 50-54). Only Rahab
     "and her father's household, and all that she had," were
     preserved from destruction, according to the promise of the
     spies (Josh. 2:14). In one of the Amarna tablets Adoni-zedec
     (q.v.) writes to the king of Egypt informing him that the 'Abiri
     (Hebrews) had prevailed, and had taken the fortress of Jericho,
     and were plundering "all the king's lands." It would seem that
     the Egyptian troops had before this been withdrawn from
     Palestine.
     
       This city was given to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 18:21),
     and it was inhabited in the time of the Judges (Judg. 3:13; 2
     Sam. 10:5). It is not again mentioned till the time of David (2
     Sam. 10:5). "Children of Jericho" were among the captives who
     returned under Zerubbabel Ezra 2:34; Neh. 7:36). Hiel (q.v.) the
     Bethelite attempted to make it once more a fortified city (1
     Kings 16:34). Between the beginning and the end of his
     undertaking all his children were cut off.
     
       In New Testament times Jericho stood some distance to the
     south-east of the ancient one, and near the opening of the
     valley of Achor. It was a rich and flourishing town, having a
     considerable trade, and celebrated for the palm trees which
     adorned the plain around. It was visited by our Lord on his last
     journey to Jerusalem. Here he gave sight to two blind men (Matt.
     20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52), and brought salvation to the house of
     Zacchaeus the publican (Luke 19:2-10).
     
       The poor hamlet of er-Riha, the representative of modern
     Jericho, is situated some two miles farther to the east. It is
     in a ruinous condition, having been destroyed by the Turks in
     1840. "The soil of the plain," about the middle of which the
     ancient city stood, "is unsurpassed in fertility; there is
     abundance of water for irrigation, and many of the old aqueducts
     are almost perfect; yet nearly the whole plain is waste and
     desolate...The climate of Jericho is exceedingly hot and
     unhealthy. This is accounted for by the depression of the plain,
     which is about 1,200 feet below the level of the sea."
     
       There were three different Jerichos, on three different sites,
     the Jericho of Joshua, the Jericho of Herod, and the Jericho of
     the Crusades. Er-Riha, the modern Jericho, dates from the time
     of the Crusades. Dr. Bliss has found in a hollow scooped out for
     some purpose or other near the foot of the biggest mound above
     the Sultan's Spring specimens of Amorite or pre-Israelitish
     pottery precisely identical with what he had discovered on the
     site of ancient Lachish. He also traced in this place for a
     short distance a mud brick wall in situ, which he supposes to be
     the very wall that fell before the trumpets of Joshua. The wall
     is not far from the foot of the great precipice of Quarantania
     and its numerous caverns, and the spies of Joshua could easily
     have fled from the city and been speedily hidden in these
     fastnesses.
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Jericho, his moon; his month; his sweet smell
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Jericho, AR (town, FIPS 35140)
    Location: 35.28591 N, 90.22731 W
    Population (1990): 210 (70 housing units)
    Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Jericho, NY (CDP, FIPS 38539)
    Location: 40.78850 N, 73.54186 W
    Population (1990): 13141 (4630 housing units)
    Area: 10.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 11753
  Jericho, SC
    Zip code(s): 29426
  Jericho, VT (village, FIPS 36625)
    Location: 44.50178 N, 72.98696 W
    Population (1990): 1405 (461 housing units)
    Area: 3.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Jericho, AR -- U.S. town in Arkansas
     Population (2000):    184
     Housing Units (2000): 73
     Land area (2000):     0.466306 sq. miles (1.207726 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    0.466306 sq. miles (1.207726 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            35140
     Located within:       Arkansas (AR), FIPS 05
     Location:             35.286550 N, 90.227498 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):    
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Jericho, AR
      Jericho
  

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Jericho, NY -- U.S. Census Designated Place in New York
     Population (2000):    13045
     Housing Units (2000): 4600
     Land area (2000):     4.058705 sq. miles (10.511998 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    4.058705 sq. miles (10.511998 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            38539
     Located within:       New York (NY), FIPS 36
     Location:             40.786544 N, 73.536757 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     11753
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Jericho, NY
      Jericho
  

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Jericho, VT -- U.S. village in Vermont
     Population (2000):    1457
     Housing Units (2000): 513
     Land area (2000):     1.437597 sq. miles (3.723360 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.002388 sq. miles (0.006184 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    1.439985 sq. miles (3.729544 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            36625
     Located within:       Vermont (VT), FIPS 50
     Location:             44.501827 N, 72.986531 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):    
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Jericho, VT
      Jericho