EUPHRATES (Sumerian Buramum; Akkadian Puramumu or Purattu, whose most probable meaning is "Great River"; Hebrew Pardh; the Greek term Εὐφράνης derives from the Persian Ufratno, hence Frat, cf. Armenian Efrat). - One of the largest rivers of Asia.
It rises in the mountains of Armenia from the union of the Kara Su, which has its source in the Dumlu Dağ north of Erzerum, and the Murat Su (= Arsanias of the Greeks, also called the Eastern E.), which originates in the Ala Dağ a little north of Lake Van. The junction takes place below Harput. At about 160 km from the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the E. joins with the other great river, the Tigris (v.), forming the Shaṭṭ al-ʿArab. The E. is 2780 km long and has a very irregular course, especially among the mountain ranges of the Taurus, where it proceeds with wide bends and deep gorges, which give rise to high and beautiful waterfalls. In the Mesopotamian plain its bed widens, reaching even 400 m, and a depth of 5-6 m. Its water flow varies with the seasons; but its floods (March-June) are usually very regular, depending on the melting of the snows. To these is subordinated the navigability of the river, which is now little exploited, given the rise of railways along the Persian Gulf. It should be noted that in the prehistoric period, and also in the historic one although clear evidence is lacking, the E. emptied directly into the sea with a mouth separate from that of the Tigris. Its main tributaries are: Nahr Belib and Nahr Hâbûr. Among the cities once bathed by it, Charcamia (cf. Jer. 46, 2) and Babylon (cf. Apoc. 9, 14; 16, 12) were famous. At the time of the Babylonian Empire the E. supplied a large part of the water that, through an excellent network of canals, irrigated the vast plain.
In the Bible the E. is often mentioned, appearing from the very beginning (cf. Gen. 2, 14) as one of the rivers of the earthly Paradise. Sometimes it symbolizes Babylonian power (cf. Jer. 2, 18; 13, 4 ff.; Is. 8, 7; 27, 12). Often the E. is recalled in boundary delimitations. According to the promise made to Abraham (Gen. 15, 18; cf. Ex. 23, 31; Deut. 1, 7; 11, 24; Josh. 1, 4 etc.) the northern limit of the Hebrew domain would be marked by that river. At the beginning of the Israelite kingdom, at least nominally and on particular occasions, this boundary seems to have been reached (cf. II Sam. 8, 3; I Kings 4, 24). In the Persian period the E. marked the limit of the satrapy Abur Nahara (Hebrew 'ebher han-nâhâr, "beyond the river"; cf. Ezra 8, 36; Neh. 2, 7, 9), which comprised the zone extending between it and the Mediterranean.
Bibliography5 works
Angelo Penna