“And the name of the second river is Giḥon; it is that which encircles the entire land of Kush” (Genesis 2:13). “And the name of the second river is Giḥon…[the land of Kush]” – Kush did not yet exist,13Kush was a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:6). and it says: “The entire land of Kush”? This is bewildering. It is because, “He tells the outcome from the outset.”
“And the name of the third river is Tigris; it is that which goes east of Ashur. And the fourth river, it is Euphrates” (Genesis 2:14). “And the name of the third river is Tigris [Ḥidekel]” – because it is harsh [ḥad]14The passage subsequent to these words is mistakenly omitted in most editions: בְּקוֹלוֹ, הוּא הַהֹלֵךְ קִדְמַת אַשּׁוּר, וַעֲדַיִין לֹא עָמַד אַשּׁוּר, אֶלָּא מַגִּיד מֵרֵאשִׁית אַחֲרִית. וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִי הוּא פְרָת, רַב אָמַר.
We have presented the translation of these missing words. in its sound [kolo]. “It is that which goes east of Ashur – but Ashur did not yet exist.15Ashur was a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:22). It is because “He tells the outcome from the outset.” “And the fourth river, it is Euphrates” – Rav said: Euphrates is the foremost of the rivers.16This is derived from the phrase “it is Euphrates,” and from the fact that it is referred to as “the great river” (Genesis 15:18, Deuteronomy 1:7).
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ami in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi said: “Uval” (Daniel 8:3) is the foremost of the rivers. But is it not written: “I was alongside the great river, that being Tigris”? (Daniel 10:4). The explanation is that Daniel saw two prophetic dreams, one on the Tigris and one on the Uval, and the [vision on the] Tigris was greater than [the vision on] the Uval, and that is why he calls it [Tigris] great.
But is it not so, that at the creation of the world, it [Euphrates] is not called great? [Why is that?] The reason is because it went up and encircled the Land of Israel,17At creation it was not yet “great.” Its greatness came later, when it became the border of the Land of Israel. in whose regard it is written: “For who is a great nation that has God [close to it]” (Deuteronomy 4:7).18Euphrates is called “the great river” because of its association with the land of the “great nation.”
The folk saying says: A king’s slave is [himself] a king; attach yourself to an officer and people will bow to you. Rav said to his son Ḥiyya: ‘Build me a house in the Land of Israel.’ He said to him: ‘Where?’ He said to him: ‘Build it as soon as you cross the River [Euphrates].’
Shmuel said: ‘Up to the place where the River flows, that is the Land of Israel.’ Where is that? It is Tarbakna. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Huna, Rabbi Yudan said: The Euphrates and the Kevar River (Ezekiel 1:1) are one and the same.
“Euphrates [Perat]” – because it broadens [para verava] to the point that it can be crossed [only] by boat. “Euphrates [Perat]” – because its water brings fertility [parin] and abundance [to the surrounding soil]. “Euphrates [Perat]” – because it gradually branches out [mefaresh] [into smaller and smaller streams] until it is possible to stop it with a spade. Kevar – because its produce [its grains] are large and do not fall through a sieve [kevara].
Rabbi Huna said: Kevar is a river unto itself, and Perat is a river unto itself.19They are not identical, as Rabbi Yehuda said. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: They said to the Euphrates: ‘Why do you not emit a loud sound?’ It responded to them: ‘I do not need [to show off], as my actions make me known: A person plants a sapling near me, and it produces [fruit] in just thirty days; he sows a vegetable near me, and it grows in just three days.’
They said to the Tigris: ‘Why do you emit a loud sound?’ It responded to them: ‘Would that my sound might be heard and I be noticed.’ They said to the fruit trees: ‘Why do you not emit a loud sound?’20Your leaves do not rustle loudly. They responded to them: ‘We do not need [to show off], as our fruits attest to our [importance].’
They said to the non-fruit bearing trees: ‘Why do you emit a loud sound?’ They responded to them: ‘Would that our sound might be heard and we be noticed.’ Rav Huna said: It is not for that reason. Rather, fruit trees, because they are weighed down with their fruit, that is why they do not emit a loud sound.
But non-fruit bearing trees, because they are not weighed down with their fruit, do emit a loud sound. That is what is written: “His heart and the heart of his people trembled, like the trembling of the trees of the forest from [the wind]” (Isaiah 7:2).