Rivers of the land of the Bible


Introduction
            Rivers are frequently referred to in indicating geographical boundaries of the land of the Bible. The RSV names the following rivers: Abana, Ahava, Chebar, Euphrates, Gihon, Gozan, Hiddekel (Tigris), Jabbok, Jordan, Kishon, Nile, Pharpar, Pishon and Ulai. The studies about these rivers and their connection with the Land of the Bible give us the better understanding of the Bible.
Rivers of Eden:
            Euphrates, Gihon, Tigris, Pishon are named as the rivers of Eden in the Bible. Euphrates is the longest river of Western Asia and one of the two major rivers in Mesopotamia. The river begins in the mountains of Armenia. The Euphrates formed the northern boundary of the territories promised by God to Israel (Gen 15:18 /josh 1:4). The river Gihon refers to a smaller river in the Euphrates valley system. It was the site where Solomon was anointed and proclaimed king (1King 1:33, 38). Tigris is a major river  flowing from the Taurus mountains of Eastern Turkey, the Tigris and Euphrates flow roughly parallel to each other for hundreds of miles in the “Land of the two Rivers” or Mesopotamia. Pishon is one of the four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:11). This is also mentioned in Sir 24:25, where it is compared with wisdom.
Abana and Pharpar:  
            These are the chief rivers of Damascus. The Abana flowed through the center of this great city with Pharpar. When Naaman the leper was asked to bathe in the Jordan River seven times, he complained that he would rather bathe in the Abana or the Pharpar (2 King 5:12).
Jabbok:
            One of the main eastern tributaries of the Jordan River (Duet 2:37). Near “the ford of Jabbok”, Jacob “wrestled with God” and heed his name charged to Israel (Gen 32: 22-32).

Jordan:  
            The longest and most important river in Palestine. This river is part of the Great Rift Valley that runs north to south into Africa. The part north of the Sea of Galilee is called the Upper Jordan; the portion south of the Sea of Galilee is the Lower Jordan. The most significant river in the scripture, the Jordan divided the territory of Israel into Western and Eastern Parts. David fled to the eastern side of Jordan after Absalom’s initial success (2 Sam 17:22-24). The west side of the Jordan was the area generally thought to have been promised to Abraham. John the Baptist carried out his ministry in the Jordan River region (Mt3: 5-6, Mk 1:5, Lk3:3, Jn1:28). Jesus carried out his ministry on the both side of the Jordan (Mt4:15, Mk 3:8, Jn10:40).
Nile:
            The longest river in Africa and possibly the longest river in the world. It flows north nearly 4000 miles from Lake Victoria in Tanzania to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile figured in the dream of Pharaoh interpreted by Joseph (Gen 41: 1-36) and especially in the events of the Exodus (Exod 2: 7-8). Moses was taken from the Nile (Exod 2:1) and the river was the target of the Lord’s first two plagues on Egypt (Exod 7:15-24). The judgment on Egypt was often described in terms of the drying up of the Nile (Ezek 29: 10).
Conclusion: 
            The more than 150 biblical references to rivers and streams fall chiefly into six categories (a) Serving as a boundary or geographic point of reference (b)A source of cleansing  (c) A source of life (d) A place of Divine- Human encounter  (e) The agent of God’s acts of  provision either rescue or judgment  (f) and as a symbol. As a conclusion, we can say that the context of Bible is more spiritual than Historical.

Bibliography
  • Eliade, Mircea. ed. The Eencyclopedia of Religion vol 12. New York: Macmillan Puplishing Company, 1987.
  • Hahn, Scott. ed. Catholic Bible Dictionary. New York: Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publishing Data, 2009.
  • Herbert, Lockyer SR. Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible. Nashville: Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publishing Data, 1986.
  • Brown, Raymond. E., J. Fitzmyer, and R. E. Murphy. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2001.

Bro. M. Francis Amaladoss
Theology I Year
St. Joseph Seminary,  Mangaore

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