River

RIVER. The Hebrews give the Name of the River, without any Addition, sometimes to the Nile, sometimes to the Euphrates, and sometimes to Jordan. ‘Tis the Tenour of the Discourse that must determine the Sense of this uncertain and indeterminate Way of Speaking. They give also the Name of River to Brooks and Rivulets that are not very considerable.

Here follows a List of the principal Rivers or Brooks of Palestine.

The Jordan. The Arnon, } beyond Jordan.

The Jabok, The Karith, The Sorek. The Beser. The Kishon. The Belus. The Brook of Jezreel, which falls into the Jordan, near Scythopolis.

The Eleuthera. The Sabbation. The Brook of Reeds, or of Kannah. The Barrady, otherwise Abanah and Pharphar, Rivers of Damascus.

All these Rivers may be seen under their proper Articles, or under the Cities to which they belong.

Jonah ii. 4.The Name of River is sometimes given to the Sea; for Example, Jonah says, He found himself surrounded by the Rivers, that is, by the Waters of the Sea. And Habakkuk, speaking of the Passage Habak. iii. 8, 9.through the Red Sea, says, That the Lord divided the Waters of the Rivers. And the Psal. lxxiv. 15. Ps. xxiv. 2.Psalmist, That the Lord dried up the rapid Rivers, or the Rivers of Strength. And elsewhere, That the Lord had founded the Earth upon the Sea, and established it upon the Rivers: Which signifies the same in both Places. Herodotus relates,¹ that when King Xerxes cast Bonds into the Hellespont, and order’d it to be whip’d, he said to it: ‘Tis with good Reason that no Body offers Sacrifices to thee, O thou deceitful and turbulent River.

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