Abana
“Perennial or constant (alternate reading: Amanah)”
Summary
The chief river of Damascus, mentioned by Naaman the Syrian as superior to all the waters of Israel when he was commanded to wash in the Jordan.
☩Naaman's Objection
When the prophet Elisha commanded Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River to be cleansed of his leprosy, the Syrian general indignantly protested: 'Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' Naaman's proud comparison reflected the genuine beauty and fertility these rivers brought to Damascus, making its environs one of the loveliest spots in the region despite bordering on a desert.
☩Identification and Description
The Abana is identified with the modern Barada, called by the ancient Greeks the Chrysorrhoas or 'golden stream.' It rises in the Anti-Lebanon mountains about twenty-three miles from Damascus, with one of its sources at the village of Zebedani. The large spring Ain Fijah significantly increases its volume before it flows through a picturesque gorge toward Damascus. Upon reaching the city, the river divides into multiple channels that spread across the surrounding plain like an opening fan, supplying the many fountains, gardens, and public cisterns of Damascus. These waters eventually lose themselves in the marshes of the Meadow Lakes east of the city.
☩Significance
The Abana's waters render Damascus remarkably fertile and beautiful, whereas most Israelite streams run dry for much of the year and flow in deep channels that provide less irrigation. This explains Naaman's natural but spiritually blind preference for his homeland's rivers over the muddy Jordan. Later interpreters saw in Naaman's initial refusal a picture of human pride that refuses the simple gospel, preferring earthly resources to God's appointed means of cleansing.
Related Verses1 mention
2 Kings· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Abana," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Abanah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Abana," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Abana," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).