The plains - Hebrew ערבה ‛ărābâh; the word is the plural of that which is used to denote the whole depressed tract along the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and onward, where it is still called the Arabah (compare Numbers 21:4 note), to the Elanitic gulf.
On this side Jordan by Jericho - Rather, across the Jordan of Jericho, i. e., that part of Jordan which skirted the territory of Jericho. This form of expression indicates the site of the camp in its relation to the well-known city of Jericho. See Deuteronomy 1:1.