“The name of the one is Pishon; it is that which encircles the entire land of Ḥavila, where the gold is” (Genesis 2:11). “The name of the one is Pishon” – because it causes flax [pishtan] to grow4Pishon is interpreted to be the Nile, along which flax grows. and its water flows smoothly [shofi].5Shofi contains the first three letters of Pishon, transposed. “It is that which encircles the entire land of Ḥavila” – Ḥavila did not yet exist,6Ḥavila was a great-grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:7). and yet you say: “It is that which encircles [the entire land of Ḥavila]”?
This is bewildering. The explanation is that “He tells the outcome from the outset” (Isaiah 46:10).7God knows the future, so He is able to call a land by its future name. “Where the gold is” – pure gold.8This is expounded from the fact that it says “the gold,” rather than “gold.” “And the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium there, and onyx stone” (Genesis 2:12).
“And the gold of that land is good” – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is good when it is in his house;9Gold is the best way to store one’s savings, since a large value is concentrated in each coin. it is good when it accompanies him on the road.10It is convenient for the road as well, for the same reason. The Midrash is expounding the repeated use of the word “gold” in consecutive verses [hazahav, vezahav].
Rabbi Abahu said: The Holy One blessed be He afforded a great favor to His world, as a person makes change from a single gold piece and he can spend it on several expenditures. Reish Lakish said: The world should not have been worthy of using gold [for secular purposes]. Why was it created? For the Temple, as it is stated: “And the gold of that land is good” – just as it says: “This good mountain and Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25).11This phrase refers to the Temple (see Bereshit Rabba 15:1).
“There is bdellium [bedolaḥ] there, and onyx stone” – Rabbi Aivu said: Do you think that this bedolaḥ is the one that spice-mixers use?12Bedolaḥ is both the name of a spice and the name of a gem. Let its counterpart tell about it: “And its appearance was like the appearance of bdellium [bedolaḥ]” (Numbers 11:7). Just as that is a gem, so, too, this is a gem.