Pison
“Streaming or overflowing”
Summary
Pison was one of the four rivers that watered the Garden of Eden, described as flowing around the land of Havilah where gold, bdellium, and onyx were found.
☩Biblical Description
The Pison is identified as one of four rivers originating from a single river that watered the Garden of Eden. Scripture describes it as 'compassing the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.' The name in Hebrew (Pishon) may derive from a root meaning 'to stream' or 'to increase.'
☩Proposed Identifications
The identification of the Pison has been debated for centuries. The most ancient and widely received opinion, held by Josephus, Eusebius, Ambrose, Epiphanius, and Augustine, identifies it with the Ganges. Medieval Jewish interpreters like Saadiah Gaon maintained it was the Nile. Other proposals include the Indus, the Phasis (modern Rion River in Georgia), the Araxes flowing into the Caspian Sea, and even the Danube. Colonel Chesney suggested the Halys River in Anatolia. The mention of gold as a special product of the region inclines some to the Phasis identification, as the resemblance of names supports this.
Related Verses1 mention
Genesis· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Pison," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Pison," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Pison," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).