Why the Euphrates Is Called the Great River in Deuteronomy

"Unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Deuteronomy 1:7). And why does it call it a great river? Behold, four rivers go forth, and the Euphrates is the fourth, and it is the last — to teach you that it is the smallest of them all; yet here it calls it a great river. And why so? Because it is within the border of Israel, therefore it called it great. For the proverb says: "A king's servant is a king." Draw near to the anointed one and you will be anointed — that is to say, whoever is near to a seller of oil takes of his oil; and draw near to the hot one and it will grow hot for you, as it is explained in the teaching: "to the hot one" means "to heat," like "but he got no heat" (1 Kings 1:1), which we render in translation "but it gave him no heat" — he warms himself from it. "Euphrates" (Perat): and why is its name called Perat? Because whoever drinks of its waters is fruitful and multiplies (parah u-ravah).