Jordan Valley at Gilgal, which went dry as soon as the Ark of the Covenant reached the shore (). Yom HaAliyah (Aliyah Day, ) is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of the Hebrew month of Nisan to commemorate the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the Land of Israel while carrying the Ark of the Covenant. The Jordan River is revered by Christians as the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Jesus' traditional baptism site has attracted pilgrims throughout history. During the last four decades pilgrimage facilities have been created at three different sites. With Al Maghtas
The Jesus Dynasty Dynasty" is "a long overdue and most welcome addition to our knowledge of the historical Jesus, which has, not surprisingly, been widely denigrated by conservative scholars." The Jesus Dynasty The Jesus Dynasty is a book written by James Tabor in which he develops the hypothesis that the original Jesus movement was a dynastic one, with the intention of overthrowing the rule of Herod Antipas; that Jesus of Nazareth was a royal messiah, while his cousin John the Baptist planned to be a priestly messiah. By his parents' marriage, Jesus was better placed to be King of Israel than Herod Antipas