Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Genesis 2:11
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
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 Pasitigris, being a branch of that river, and mixed with, or arising from channels, drawn from Tigris, Euphrates, and other waters f144 that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; this country had its name from Havilah, one of the sons of Cush, (<011007>Genesis 10:7) who very probably seated himself near his brother Seba, from whom came the Sabeans, who inhabited one part of Arabia; and Havilah, it is plain, was before Egypt, in the way to Assyria, and bordered upon the Ishmaelites, who inhabited Arabia Deserta, (<012516>Genesis 25:16-18 <091507> 1 Samuel 15:7). So that it seems to be a country in Arabia, near unto, or a part of Cush or Arabia Cusea, and near to Seba or Arabia Felix: and so Strabo, among the nations of the Arabians, and along with the Nabatheans, places the Chaulotaeans f145, who seem to be no other than the posterity of Havilah: according to the learned Reland f146, it is the same with Colchis, a part of Scythia, and Phasis is well known to be a river of Colchis; and which runs into Pontus, as appears from Pliny f147 and includes Scythia, as Justin f148 says; and then it must have its name from Havilah, the son of Joktan, (<011029>Genesis 10:29) and in either of these countries there was gold, and an abundance of it, and of the best, as follows:
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