The Meaning of Genesis 2:14 Explained

Genesis 2:14

KJV: And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

YLT: and the name of the third river is Hiddekel, it is that which is going east of Asshur; and the fourth river is Phrat.

Darby: And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which flows forward toward Asshur. And the fourth river, that is Euphrates.

ASV: And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the name  of the third  river  [is] Hiddekel:  that [is] it which goeth toward  the east  of Assyria.  And the fourth  river  [is] Euphrates. 

What does Genesis 2:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 2:1-17 - Man In Eden, Innocence
The first paragraph belongs to the previous chapter, as is clear from the use of the same term for God-Elohim. God's Rest was not from weariness, or exhaustion, but because His work of Creation was finished. He is ever at work, remember John 5:17. We enter into His rest, when we cease to worry, and trust Him in all and for all. In Genesis 2:4, Moses incorporates another of those wonderful God-given narratives, which had been handed down from the lips of the patriarchs. It is marked by the use of another term for God-Jehovah Elohim. Every man is entrusted with a garden, that he may keep it. God's goodness is no excuse for idleness. Whether your heart and life shall produce weeds, or flowers and fruits, depends on yourself. Ponder Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 24:30-31. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 2

1  The first Sabbath
4  Further details concerning the manner of creation
8  The planting of the garden of Eden, and its situation;
15  man is placed in it; and the tree of knowledge forbidden
18  The animals are named by Adam
21  The making of woman, and the institution of marriage

What do the individual words in Genesis 2:14 mean?

And the name of river third [is] Tigris it runs along the east side of Assyria And river the fourth is the Euphrates
וְשֵׁ֨ם הַנָּהָ֤ר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ חִדֶּ֔קֶל ה֥וּא הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ קִדְמַ֣ת אַשּׁ֑וּר וְהַנָּהָ֥ר הָֽרְבִיעִ֖י ה֥וּא פְרָֽת

וְשֵׁ֨ם  And  the  name 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
הַנָּהָ֤ר  of  river 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙  third 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: שְׁלִישִׁי 
Sense: third, one third, third part, third time.
חִדֶּ֔קֶל  [is]  Tigris 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: חִדֶּקֶל  
Sense: one of the rivers of Eden which coursed east toward Assyria; better known as the Tigris (the LXX equivalent).
הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ  runs  along 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
קִדְמַ֣ת  the  east  side 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קִדְמָה  
Sense: forward, front, east, antiquity, East.
אַשּׁ֑וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
וְהַנָּהָ֥ר  And  river 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
הָֽרְבִיעִ֖י  the  fourth 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: רְבִיעִי 
Sense: fourth.
פְרָֽת  the  Euphrates 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּרָת  
Sense: the largest and longest river of western Asia; rises from two chief sources in the Armenian mountains and flows into the Persian Gulf.