Pishon

Biblical Text

The Pishon appears in Genesis 2:10-14. A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides into four heads. The first is the Pishon, followed by the Gihon, the Hiddekel (Tigris), and the Euphrates. The text states that the Pishon "compasseth the whole land of Havilah," that the gold of that land is good, and that bdellium and the onyx stone are found there (Genesis 2:11-12). This passage is the only place in the Old Testament where the name Pishon occurs. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), which Protestants classify among the Apocrypha and which is included in the Korean Common Bible, reportedly contains a verse comparing the abundance of wisdom to the Pishon River.

Background

Of the four rivers, the Hiddekel and the Euphrates are actual rivers of Mesopotamia. The Pishon and the Gihon, by contrast, have not been identified. Some connect the Hebrew name etymologically with a word meaning "to spring up" or "to gush forth," but this connection is uncertain.

Havilah, the land the Pishon is said to encircle, also appears as a place name in the genealogy of Genesis 10, in Genesis 25:18, and in 1 Samuel 15:7. It is commonly thought to be a region in or near the Arabian Peninsula. Bdellium has been variously understood as a fragrant resin (tree gum) or as a precious stone. Onyx is also the name of the stone set in the shoulder pieces of the ephod and in the high priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:9, 20).

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The name Pishon does not appear in the New Testament. However, the image of a river flowing out of Eden to water the land recurs later in Scripture. Ezekiel 47 describes life-giving water flowing out from the temple, and Revelation 22:1-2 describes the river of the water of life proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Some interpreters note that the gold and onyx of the land along the Pishon correspond to materials later used to adorn the tabernacle. On this basis, some read Eden as the prototype of the sanctuary in which God dwells with His people.

Interpretations and Debates

Various views have long been held on which river the Pishon was.

• Historical identification: The first-century Jewish historian Josephus identified the Pishon with the Ganges River of India, and some early Church Fathers are said to have followed this view.
• Modern proposals: The Indus, the Nile, and the Karun River of Iran, among others, have been suggested. Some scholars identify the Pishon with an ancient river course (today a dry wadi) that once crossed the Arabian Peninsula and flowed into the Persian Gulf.
• Topographical change theory: This position holds that Noah's Flood so altered the landscape that the river can no longer be located. It is commonly advanced in creation science circles.
• Theological and symbolic reading: This position regards the four rivers as a depiction of the source of life watering the whole world and places little weight on identifying their location.

The text does not specify the Pishon's exact location. Claims circulating in popular media and online, such as that "the Pishon River has been discovered by satellite imagery," are not established facts in scholarship.