Encyclopedia entry

River

Disambiguation

The source enumerates 8 distinct subjects under River. Jump to one below, or read in order.

1.Heb.
2.Heb.
3.Nahar, a “river” continuous and full, a perennial stream, as the Jordan, the…
4.Tel’alah, a conduit, or water-course (1 Kings 18:32; 2 Kings 18:17; 20:20; Job…
5.Peleg, properly “waters divided”, i.e., streams divided, throughout the land (Ps.
6.Ye’or, i.e., “great river”, probably from an Egyptian word (Aur), commonly applied…
7.Yubhal, “a river” (Jer.
8.‘Ubhal, “a river” (Dan.

River (1)
#
Heb. ‘aphik, properly the channel or ravine that holds water (2 Sam. 22:16), translated “brook,” “river,” “stream,” but not necessarily a perennial stream (Ezek. 6:3; 31:12; 32:6; 34:13).
River (2)
#
Heb. nahal, in winter a “torrent,” in summer a “wady” or valley (Gen. 32:23; Deut. 2:24; 3:16; Isa. 30:28; Lam. 2:18; Ezek. 47:9).
These winter torrents sometimes come down with great suddenness and with desolating force. A distinguished traveller thus describes his experience in this matter:, “I was encamped in Wady Feiran, near the base of Jebel Serbal, when a tremendous thunderstorm burst upon us. After little more than an hour’s rain, the water rose so rapidly in the previously dry wady that I had to run for my life, and with great difficulty succeeded in saving my tent and goods; my boots, which I had not time to pick up, were washed away. In less than two hours a dry desert wady upwards of 300 yards broad was turned into a foaming torrent from 8 to 10 feet deep, roaring and tearing down and bearing everything upon it, tangled masses of tamarisks, hundreds of beautiful palmtrees, scores of sheep and goats, camels and donkeys, and even men, women, and children, for a whole encampment of Arabs was washed away a few miles above me. The storm commenced at five in the evening; at half-past nine the waters were rapidly subsiding, and it was evident that the flood had spent its force.” (Comp. Matt. 7:27; Luke 6:49.)
River (3)
#
Nahar, a “river” continuous and full, a perennial stream, as the Jordan, the Euphrates (Gen. 2:10; 15:18; Deut. 1:7; Ps. 66:6; Ezek. 10:15).
River (4)
#
Tel’alah, a conduit, or water-course (1 Kings 18:32; 2 Kings 18:17; 20:20; Job 38:25; Ezek. 31:4).
River (5)
#
Peleg, properly “waters divided”, i.e., streams divided, throughout the land (Ps. 1:3); “the rivers [i.e., ‘divisions’] of waters” (Job 20:17; 29:6; Prov. 5:16).
River (6)
#
Ye’or, i.e., “great river”, probably from an Egyptian word (Aur), commonly applied to the Nile (Gen. 41:1-3), but also to other rivers (Job 28:10; Isa. 33:21).
River (7)
#
Yubhal, “a river” (Jer. 17:8), a full flowing stream.
River (8)
#
‘Ubhal, “a river” (Dan. 8:2).

Also from Smith's (1884) +

In the sense in which we employ the word viz. for a perennial stream of considerable size, a river is a much rarer object in the East than in the West. With the exception of the Jordan and the Litany, the streams of the holy land are either entirely dried up in the summer months converted into hot lanes of glaring stones, or else reduced to very small streamlets, deeply sunk in a narrow bed, and concealed from view by a dense growth of shrubs. The perennial river is called nahar by the Hebrews. With the definite article, “the river,” it signifies invariably the Euphrates. (Genesis 31:21; Exodus 23:31; Numbers 24:6; 2 Samuel 10:16) etc. It is never applied to the fleeting fugitive torrents of Palestine. The term for these is nachal, for which our translators have used promiscuously, and sometimes almost alternately, “valley” “brook” and “river.” No one of these words expresses the thing intended; but the term “brook” is peculiarly unhappy. Many of the wadys of Palestine are deep, abrupt chasms or rents in the solid rock of-the hills, and have a savage, gloomy aspect, far removed from that of an English brook. Unfortunately our language does not contain any single word which has both the meanings of the Hebrew nachal and its Arabic equivalent wady which can be used at once for a dry valley and for the stream which occasionally flows through it.

In the Bible

160

Verses where River is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).

1 Chronicles 1:48
When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.
1 Chronicles 5:9
They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead.
1 Chronicles 5:26
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.
1 Chronicles 13:5
So David assembled all Israel, from the River Shihor in Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
1 Chronicles 18:3
As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.
1 Chronicles 19:16
When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

+154 more verses naming River.

Scripture on River

117

See all 117 +

Entries that reference River

River references

See all 15 +

Voices on River

Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.

This is Why Everyone is Googling "Euphrates River"