EUPHRATES (eii-phrastez), Heb, Per awth', to break forth; Gr. Ekbpcirm, yoo-frat'ace), termed in Deut. i:7, 'the great river,' where it is mentioned as the eastern boundary of the land which (verse 8) God gave to the descendants of Abraham. In Gen. ii:14 the Euphrates (Perath), is stated to be the fourth of the rivers which flowed from a common stream in the garden of Eden. Its modern name is Phrat.
Divines and geographers have taken much trouble in order to learn the position of Eden from the geographical particulars given in the Bible, without remembering that probably nothing more than a popular description was intended.
In consequence of its magnitude and impor tance. the Euphrates was designated and known as 'the rive.-,' being by far the most considerable stream in Western Asia. Thus in Exod. xxiii :31 we read. 'from the desert unto the river' (Comp. Is. viii :7).
(1) Sources. It has two sources and two arms —a western and an eastern—which rise in the mountains of Armenia. Of these streams, the western is the shorter, and is called Kara Sou, or Melas; the eastern is itself made up of several stre..ms, the longest of which bears the name of Murad, nr Phrat. The two arms unite about three days' journey from Erzeroom, near which rise two of the tributaries that concur in forming the Phrat. Thus uniting, they give rise to the Euphrates strictly so called, which, flowing to the south, divides Armenia from Cappadocia; but, being driven westward by the Anti-Taurus and Taurus Mountains, it works its circuitous way through narrow passes and over cataracts, until, breaking through a defile formed by the eastern extremity of Mons Amanus (Alma Dagh), and the northwestern extremity of Mons Taurus, it reaches the plain country not far from Samosata (Schemisat), then winds south and southeast, passing the north of Syria and the northeast of Arabia Deserta, and at length, after many wind ings, unites with the Tigris. and thus united finds its termination in the Persian Gulf. In conjunc tion with the Tigris it forms the rich alluvial lands of Mesopotamia, over which it flows or is carried by canals, and thus diffuses abroad fer tility and beauty. At Bagdad and Hillah (Baby lon), the Euphrates and Tigris approach com paratively near to each other, but separate again, forming a kind of ample basin, till they finally become one at Koorma. Under the Caesars the Euphrates was the eastern boundary of the Ro man empire, as under David it was the natural limit of the Hebrew monarchy.
(2) Size. Although occasionally much more, the breadth of the Euphrates varies between 200 and 40o yards; but for a distance of sixty miles through the Lemlun marshes the main stream narrows to about 8o yards. The general depth of the Upper Euphrates exceeds eight feet. In point of current it is for the most part a sluggish stream, for, except in the height of the flooded season, when it approaches five miles an hour, it varies from two and a quarter to three and a half, with a much larger portion of its course under three than above. But it is shallow enough in some places for loaded camels to pass in au tumn, the water rising to about four and a half feet.
The length of the entire stream is about 1,780 miles. Of this distance, 1,200 miles is navigable for boats. It is very abundant in fish. The water is somewhat turbid, but, wnen purified, is pleas ant and salubrious. The Arabians set a high value on it, and name it Morad Sou—that is water of desire, or longing.
The river begins to rise in March, and continues rising till the latter end of May. The consequent increase of its volume and rapidity is attribu table to the early rains, which, falling in the Armenian Mountains, swell its mountain tribu taries, and also in the main to the melting of the winter snows in these lofty regions. About the middle of November the Euphrates has reached its lowest ebb, and, ceasing to decrease, becomes tranquil and sluggish.
The Euphrates is, on many accounts, an object of more than ordinary interest. 'The great river' is linked with the earliest times and some of the most signal events in the history of the world. Appearing among the few notices we have of the first condition of the earth and of humankind, it continues, through the whole range of Scripture history down to the present hour, an object of cu riosity, interest, wonder, hope or triumph.
In ancient, as well as in modern times, the Euphrates was used for navigation. Herodotus states that boats—either coracles or rafts, floated by inflated skins—brought the produce of Ar menia down to Babylon. The trade thus carried on was considerable.
FiguratiVe. The prophets made use of the Euphrates as a figurative description of the As syrian power, a, the Nile with them represented the power of Egypt : thus in Is. viii :7: 'The Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria' (Jer. ii (Rawlinson's vol. 1, essay ix). J. R. B.