And the name of the third river [is] Hiddekel: that [is] it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river [is] Euphrates.
14. Hiddekel ] Tigris. The Assyrian name is “Idiklat,” or “Diklat,” the old Persian “Tigra,” whence the Greek “Tigris” (modern Digle). It is mentioned in the Bible elsewhere only in Dan 10:4 and Sir 24:25 . This famous river rises not far from the source of the Euphrates, and flows at first east from Diarbekr and unites with the Bohtan Tsckai, after which it flows south-east. It approaches the Euphrates at Bagdad, but continues a separate course until it unites at Korna with that river, and enters the Persian Gulf as the Schatt-el-Arab. In earlier times the two rivers entered the sea at different points. The Tigris was so called from an old Persian word meaning “arrow,” and probably because of its swiftness.
in front of Assyria ] The Hebrew expression rendered “in front of” generally denotes “to the east of,” cf. Gen 2:8, Gen 4:16, Gen 12:8 notes. The Hebrew standpoint is always that of a person facing east. That which is in front is east: towards his right hand is the south, towards his left the north, at his back the west. It is objected that Assyria was a country, through which the Tigris flowed, and that, as Assyrian territory lay on the east as well as the west bank of the Tigris, it would not be correct to describe the Tigris as “that which goeth towards the east of Assyria.” Hence Sayce conjectures that we should here understand, not the country “Assyria,” but the country’s old capital “Asshur” which gave its name to the country, and which lay on the west bank of the Tigris. But Asshur, the city, is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible; presumably, therefore, it was little known to the Hebrews, and was not likely to be mentioned in a geographical description. On the other hand, “Asshur” is the regular Hebrew designation of the country “Assyria” 1 [4] ; the mention here of “Assyria” is parallel to that of “Cush” in the preceding verse. There seems no sufficient reason for doubting that the name “Asshur” is here used, in its usual Biblical application, for the land of Assyria. If so, the geographical description of the Tigris may not be strictly accurate. Considering its remoteness from Palestine, this need not surprise us, especially in a writing dating from a period previous to the active Assyrian interference in the course of Israelite affairs.
[4] See Gen 10:22. The “Asshur” of Eze 27:23 is mentioned with “Sheba and Chilmad.”
Euphrates ] Heb. Prath. Assyrian “Puratu,” old Persian Ufrt, whence the Greek and Latin “Euphrates.” The Euphrates rises in the mountains near Erzerum, and, after following a tortuous course through the Taurus Mts., flows first in a southerly, and then, from Balis, in a S.E. direction, uniting with the Tigris before entering the Persian Gulf.
The Israelites seem to have regarded the Euphrates as “ the river par excellence.” Hence “the River,” as a proper name, in Exo 23:31, 1Ki 4:21; 1Ki 4:24, Psa 72:8; Psa 80:11, Isa 8:7, Zec 9:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hiddekel, i.e. Tigris, or an eminent branch of it. See Dan 10:4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The name of the third river is Hiddekel,…. A river which ran by Shushan in Persia, and retained its name in the times of Daniel, Da 10:4 where it is called the great river; and it seems it bears the same name now among the Persians; at least it did an hundred and fifty years ago, when Rauwolff m travelled in those parts. The Targum of Jonathan here calls it Diglath, the same with the Diglito of Pliny n; and according to him it is called Tigris, from its swiftness, either from the tiger, a swift creature, or from
, “to dart”, in the Chaldee language; and so Curtius o says, that in the Persian language they call a dart “tigris”: and with this agrees the word “Hiddekel”, which in the Hebrew language signifies sharp and swift, as a polished arrow is; and Jarchi says it is so called, because its waters are sharp and swift: though this is contradicted by some modern travellers p who say it is a slower stream than the Euphrates, and is not only very crooked, and full of meanders, but also choked up with islands, and great banks of stone:
that is [it] which goeth towards the east of Assyria: a country which had its name from Ashur, a son of Shem, Ge 10:11 it became a famous kingdom and monarchy, Nineveh was the metropolis of it, which was built on the river Tigris or Hiddekel; and, as before observed, it ran by Shushan in Persia; and so, as Diodorus Siculus q says, it passed through Media into Mesopotamia; and which very well agrees with its being, according to Moses, one of the rivers of Eden. Twelve miles up this river, from Mosul, near which Nineveh once stood, lies an island, called the island of Eden, in the heart of the Tigris, about ten English miles in circuit, and is said to be undoubtedly a part of paradise r:
and the fourth river [is] Euphrates: or “Phrat”, as in the Hebrew tongue. Reland s seems rightly to judge, that the syllable “eu”, prefixed to it, is the Persian “au” or “cu”, which in that language signifies “water”; so that “Euphrates” is no other than “the water of Phrat”, so called from the fruitfulness of it; for its waters, as Jarchi says, fructify, increase, and fatten the earth; and who rightly observes that these names, and so those of other rivers, and of the countries here mentioned, are named by a prolepsis or anticipation, these being the names they bore when Moses wrote; unless it may be thought to be the Hebrew , “Hu, the, that Phrat”; and which the Greeks have made an “eu” of.
(After the global destruction of Noah’s flood, it is doubtful that the location of these rivers could be determined with any degree of certainty today. Ed.)
m Travels, part. 2. c. 9. p. 159. ed. Ray. n Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. o Hist. l. 4. c. 9. p De la Valle & Thevenot, apud Universal History, vol. 4. p. 248. q Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 99. r Cartwright’s Preacher’s Travels, p. 91. s Ut supra, (De Situ Paradisi) p. 45.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) Of the Hiddekel and Euphrates there is no doubt: the former is the Tigris, or Tigres, which is a mere Graecising of its Oriental name, Daglath in Arabic, and Deklath in Syriac, and in the Targum of Onkelos. The word Hiddekel is startling as being a quadriliteral, but the Samaritan Codex reads the Dehel, that is, it has the article instead of the Hebrew Kheth. Mr. Sayce accepts the uncertain reading Hiddekel, and says (Chald. Gen., p. 84) that Hid is the Accadian name for river. Dekel, Tigris, is said to mean an arrow. The Samaritan reading is probably right.
Euphrates.No description is given of this as being the largest and best known of Asiatic rivers. Hence, probably, the Pison and Gihon were but small streams. Euphrates is the Greek manner of pronouncing the Hebrew Phrath, the first syllable being simply a help in sounding the double consonant. In Accadian it is called Purrat, and means the curving water, being so named from its shape.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 2:14 And the name of the third river [is] Hiddekel: that [is] it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river [is] Euphrates.
Ver. 14. Hiddekel. ] Or Tigris, which hath its name from the swiftness of the stream: Tigris in the Median tongue signifieth an arrow , saith Curtius, which flieth very swiftly. The tiger also is the swiftest of all beasts. Hiddekel signifieth sharp, swift. Contrariwise, Nile floweth gently, Lene fluit Nilus saith Claudian; so do the waters of Shiloah, Isa 8:6 creeping and crooking” slowly” and slily, called therefore, as some think, “the dragon well”. Neh 2:13 And of the river Araris (probably Saone) in Germany, Caesar said, a whether it move forward, or backward, who can tell?
a Oculis in utram partem fluat, iudicari non potest . – De Bel. Gal., l. i.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
verses 8-14 Figure of speech Parecbasis. App-6.
Hiddekel = Accadian for the Tigris, which was Idiqla, or Idiqlat = “the encircling”.
Assyria. Hebrew. Hashshur (Asshur). This is not Assyria, but the city of Assur, the primitive capital of Assyria (which lay E. and W, of the Tigris).
Euphrates. Hebrew. phenath. The Greek Euphrates comes from the old Persian Ufrate, and this from Purat or Puratu = the river. Sometimes Puranun = the great river.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Hiddekel Hiddekel = ancient name of the Tigris.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Hiddekel: Dan 10:4, The Tigris
toward the east of: or, eastward to, Gen 10:11, Gen 10:22, Gen 25:18
Euphrates: Gen 15:18, Deu 1:7, Deu 11:24, Rev 9:14
Reciprocal: Gen 31:21 – passed 1Ch 5:9 – Euphrates Isa 23:13 – the Assyrian Eze 23:23 – the Assyrians