Genesis 2:11

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 2:11 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
Genesis 2:11 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 2

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
11The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The name of the first is Pison, etc.] Not the river Nile in Egypt, as Jarchi, who thinks it is derived from “Pashah”, which signifies to increase, expand, and diffuse, as that does at certain times, and spreads itself over the land of Egypt, or from “Pishten”, linen, which grows there, (<231909>Isaiah 19:9) nor the river Ganges in India, as Josephus f139, and others; for the country where it is afterwards said to run agrees with neither Egypt nor India: rather it seems to be the same river, which is the Phasis of Pliny f140, and Strabo f141, and the Physcus of Xenophon f142, and the Hyphasis of Philostorgius f143, a river in Armenia, and about Colchis; and which is sometimes called…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- XI. The Garden 8. גן gan “garden, park,” παράδεισος paradeisos, “an enclosed piece of ground.” עדן ‛ēden “Eden, delight.” קדם qedem “fore-place, east; foretime.” 11. פישׁון pı̂yshôn Pishon; related: “flow over, spread, leap.” חוילה chăvı̂ylâh Chavilah. חול chôl “sand.” חבל chebel “region.” 12. בדלם bedolam, ἄνθραξ anthrax, “carbuncle,” (Septuagint) Βδέλλιον bdellion, a gum of eastern countries, Arabia, India, Media (Josephus, etc.). The pearl (Kimchi). שׁהם sohām πράσινος prasinos, “leeklike,” perhaps the beryl (Septuagint), ὄνυξ onux, “onyx, sardonyx,” a precious stone of the color of the nail (Jerome). 13. גיחון gı̂ychôn Gichon; related: “break forth.” כוּשׁ kûsh Kush; r.…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“2:11 The Pishon and the Gihon (2:13) cannot be identified with certainty. If the land of Havilah was in southeast Arabia or on the African coast, as some biblical data suggest (see 10:7; 25:18; 1 Sam 15:7), then the Pishon was possibly the Nile River. Josephus thought that Havilah and the Pishon were in India (Antiquities 1.1.3). Two other proposals suggest: (1) rivers in the mountains of eastern Turkey where the Tigris and Euphrates (Gen 2:14) also flow, and (2) the marshy delta near the Persian Gulf. Current geographical conditions make any theory impossible to prove conclusively.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Havilah: Gen 10:7, Gen 10:29, Gen 25:18; Sa1 15:7 Genesis 2:12”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification