THE MYSTERY OF TIRO NEAR THE JORDAN

 

©Copyright R. Blackhirst, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ruins at Araq al-Amair, modern Jordan.

 

There is a mysterious reference in the Gospel of Barnabas to a place called "Tiro near the Jordan", also described as being "in the hollow part of the desert." Here is the reference, from chpt. 99:

 

Jesus, having withdrawn into a hollow part of the desert in Tiro near to Jordan, called together the seventy-two with the twelve, and, when he had seated himself upon a stone, made them to sit near him. And he opened his mouth with a sigh and said....

 

 At first glance we might ask if this is simply an instance of the Barnabas writer getting his geography mixed up: he is confused about the location of the Biblical "Tyre". This cannot be the case, though. Jesus visits Tyre and Sidon in the Gospel of Barnabas( see Chpt. 21), as in the canonical gospels, and it seems clear that the author understands Tiro to be some place other than the northern city Tyre.

 But what place could he mean? All he tells us is:

 

(a) It is called Tiro
(b) It is in the hollow part of the desert (I take this to mean the lower Jordan valley where it starts to sink below sea level)
(c) It is near the Jordan.

 

 The context of this, the episode at this place, is the instruction of the disciples and their preparation for their mission in chpt. 126. The Tiro episode entails a long section concerned with the training of Jesus' disciples (chpts. 99-126). As well as this, we must note that Jesus and the disciples retire to Tiro in the aftermath of the war described in chpt. 91sq. The total framing of the episode - read the whole section chpt. 97 -126 to see this - is thus:

 

 *War and sedition in Judea (including the scenes where the dispute is referred to Jesus - as Joshua redivivus - at the Jordan)
*Jesus takes his disciples to Tiro and instructs them
*Jesus sends his duly instructed disciples back into Judea.

 

 A place fitting this description is to be found in Josephus' Antiquities. I do not know if this has been noted before. I have not been able to find it noted in any English sources. The context in Josephus is disputes among the Hasmoneans in the intertestamental period: John Hyrcanus is forced to retire to a stronghold called 'Tyre' in the wilderness beyond the Jordan. Here is Josephus' description:

Hyrcanus determined not to return to Jerusalem any more, but seated himself beyond Jordan, and was at perpetual war with the Arabs...He also erected a strong castle...And...he named it Tyre. This place is between Arabia and Judea, beyond Jordan, not far from the country of Heshbon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Antiquities 12:4:11. (p. 256 in Whiston)

Source: Philip's Scripture Atlas (ed. Fullard H.)

 

If we are looking for a Tiro (or Tyro etc.) "in the hollow part of the desert near the Jordan" this "castle" of Hyrcanus must be considered a strong candidate. It is a place with a very similiar name in more or less exactly the right location. (We could also note that Hyrcanus retires here to regroup, as does Jesus in the Gospel of Barnabas. This is an historically accurate motif. Various Jewish parties at various times in post-exilic history took to retreating to beyond the Jordan, retraining their men in the wilderness, and then setting out to "reconquer" their share of the Promised Land, retracing the footsteps of Joshua. It is especially a leifmotif of Jewish military tactics from the Maccabeans on.)

 

How, though, can we explain Jesus being portrayed as retiring to a stronghold of John Hyrcanus? If this is the 'Tiro' that is meant, what is its significance? It is hard indeed to see the parallel the author might be following.

 

 Further investigation adds this: 'Tiro near the Jordan' - not far from Heshbon according to Josephus - seems to have also been a Jewish reestablishment town in the period of Ezra. It is not far from the traditional Exodus route and was the ancesteral home of the Tobiads. In some sources it is regarded as an alternative "Temple" to that in Jerusalem. In modern times it is called 'Araq al-Amir' = cave of the princes.

 

If it is hard to see how our author might be alluding to Hyrcanus but this is one many intertestamental allusions or references in the Gospel of Barnabas. The Gospel of Barnabas is notable for this: its story of Jesus contains many elements and references from the period before the time of the canonical Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Spanish version: the reference to "Tyro" in Chpt. 99.