Umm Ar-Rasas / Mephaath, Jordan

While the origin of the Arabic name “Umm Ar-Rasas” remains a mystery to this day. It wasn’t until the seventeenth century that archaeologist Jemer Deran suggested that Umm Al Rasas is in fact Mephaath mentioned in the Book of Joshua. Inscriptions in the churches of Umm Ar-Rasas validated Deran’s theory and proved that it was in fact Mephaath, which the Bible mentioned was located in land of Moab, which was also considered a refuge for those guilty of accidental killing (Joshua 20).

“And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans. So their territory was from Aroer,which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley,and all the tableland by Medeba; with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon, and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath” (Joshua 13:15-18).

“And judgment has come on the plain country: on Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath” (Jeremiah 48:21).

The main attraction is outside the city walls within the Church of St. Stephen, which contains a very large, perfectly preserved mosaic floor laid down in 718 AD. It portrays fifteen major cities of the Holy Land from both east and west of the River Jordan. This magnificent mosaic is second only to Madaba’s world famous mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

http://www.holyjordan.org/node/35