Elijah, Moses and John the Baptist: Following the Prophets Through Jordan

Elijah Tours Team October 8, 2026 7 min read

Three prophets frame the story of the Jordan's east bank. Moses brought Israel to its edge and saw the Promised Land from Mount Nebo. Elijah, born in Gilead, crossed the river one last time before he was taken up. And John the Baptist, who came “in the spirit and power of Elias”, baptised at Bethany and died in Herod's fortress at Machaerus. A week in Jordan can follow all three.

Elijah: from Gilead to the whirlwind

Scripture introduces him abruptly: “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead…” (1 Kings 17:1). Tradition places his Tishbe on a wooded hill near Ajloun, now called Tell Mar Elias, where the ruins of one of Jordan's largest Byzantine churches look out over the hills of Gilead. It was among the five sites designated for pilgrimage in the Jubilee of 2000.

His story ends at the river. Elijah struck the water with his mantle, he and Elisha crossed on dry ground, and “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:8, 11). On the east bank, at the Baptism Site, early Christians linked the small hill of Tell el-Kharrar — Elijah's Hill — with that moment.

Moses: the view from Nebo

On the way north through Edom, Moses asked to pass along “the king's high way” (Numbers 20:17), the road that still runs the length of Jordan. Above Petra, Jabal Haroun carries the traditional tomb of his brother Aaron, who “died there in the top of the mount” (Numbers 20:28).

The journey ends on Mount Nebo: “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo… And the LORD shewed him all the land” (Deuteronomy 34:1). The Franciscans have kept the summit since 1932, and the Memorial of Moses, reopened in 2016, protects the mosaic floors of the Byzantine church that once stood here.

John the Baptist: Bethany and Machaerus

John's ministry was “beyond Jordan” (John 1:28), at the place now called Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where pilgrims still come to the river steps to touch the water. His death came in Herod's prison: “and he went and beheaded him in the prison” (Mark 6:27). The Gospels do not name the place; the historian Josephus does, placing John's imprisonment and execution at Machaerus.

The fortress stands on a steep hill above the Dead Sea, a short drive from Madaba, where the Shrine of the Beheading of John the Baptist keeps his memory in the town.

Our Lady of the Mountain

Not every site belongs to a prophet. At Anjara, near Ajloun, the shrine of Our Lady of the Mountain marks a cave where tradition holds that Jesus, his mother and the disciples rested on a journey through Gilead. It is one of the five Jubilee pilgrimage sites, and sits a few minutes from Tell Mar Elias.

A route through the prophets

Begin in the north: Tell Mar Elias and Anjara in the hills of Gilead, with Jerash on the way back to Amman. Then the Baptism Site and Elijah's Hill early in the morning, Mount Nebo in the afternoon, and Madaba and Machaerus the following day. If there is time, take the King's Highway south to Petra and Jabal Haroun.

Our six-day Jordan Christian Pilgrimage follows this order, with a day of rest at the Dead Sea before the flight home.