Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
” It is generally called in the Bible simply “the river” (Ex. 23:31), or “the great river” (Deut. 1:7). The Euphrates is first mentioned in Gen. 2:14 as one of the rivers of Paradise. It is next mentioned in connection with the covenant which God entered into with Abraham (15:18), when he promised to his descendants the land from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates (comp. Deut. 11:24; Josh. 1:4), a covenant promise afterwards fulfilled in the extended conquests of David (2 Sam. 8:2-14; 1 Chr. 18:3; 1 Kings 4:24). It was then the boundary of the kingdom to the north-east.
” Just as the Nile represented in prophecy the power of Egypt, so the Euphrates represented the Assyrian power (Isa. 8:7; Jer. 2:18). It is by far the largest and most important of all the rivers of Western Asia. From its source in the Armenian mountains to the Persian Gulf, into which it empties itself, it has a course of about 1,700 miles. , “the river of desire”), which rises near Ararat, on the northern slope of Ala-tagh.
At Kebban Maden, 400 miles from the source of the former, and 270 from that of the latter, they meet and form the majestic stream, which is at length joined by the Tigris at Koornah, after which it is called Shat-el-Arab, which runs in a deep and broad stream for above 140 miles to the sea. It is estimated that the alluvium brought down by these rivers encroaches on the sea at the rate of about one mile in thirty years.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
is probably a word of Aryan origin, signifying “the good and abounding river. ” The Euphrates is the largest, the longest and by far the most important of the rivers of western Asia. It rises from two chief sources in the Armenian mountains, and flows into the Persian Gulf. The entire course is 1780 miles, and of this distance more than two-thirds (1200 miles) is navigable for boats. The width of the river is greatest at the distance of 700 or 800 miles from its mouth—that is to say, from it junction with the Khabour to the village of Werai . It there averages 400 yards.
The annual inundation of the Euphrates is caused by the melting of the snows in the Armenian highlands. It occurs in the month of May. The great hydraulic works ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar had for their chief object to control the inundation. The Euphrates is first mentioned in Scripture as one of the four rivers of Eden. (Genesis 2:14) We next hear of it in the covenant made with Abraham. (Genesis 15:18) During the reigns of David and Solomon it formed the boundary of the promised land to the northeast.
(11:24; Joshua 1:4) Prophetical reference to the Euphrates is found in (Jeremiah 13:4-7; 46:2-10; 51:63; Revelation 9:14; 16:12) “The Euphrates is linked with the most important events in ancient history. ”—Appleton’s Cyc.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary
EUPHRA'TES (the abounding), a noted river, the largest in western Asia, rises in Armenia in two sources. One, on the northern side of the mountain of Ararat, runs in a south-easterly course, receives many tributaries in its winding course along the borders of Syria, and skirting the Arabian desert passes through the middle of Babylon to the sea. Its whole length is 1780 miles. It is navigable for large ships to Bassora, 70 miles above its mouth; a steamer drawing 4 feet of water has ascended to Bir, 1197 miles.
It flows in a broad, deep current, filled to the level of its banks, and at Babylon is considerably less than a mile in width. For the last 800 miles of its course it does not receive a single tributary. The quantity of water discharged by the river at Hit is estimated at 72,804 cubic feet per second. The Tigris flows in a narrower channel, with deeper banks and a less rapid current. The country between the two rivers slopes toward the Tigris, and thus greatly favors the draining off of the superfluous waters of the Euphrates.
The Euphrates overflows its banks in the spring of every year, when the snow of the Armenian mountains dissolves, and it sometimes rises 12 feet. It swells in March, and sinks in July. Dykes, lakes, and canals constructed at vast expense preserved the water for irrigation during the dry season, and prevented its carrying away the soil. History.
— Euphrates is named as one of the rivers of Eden, Gen 2:13; called "the great river," Gen 15:18; Deut 1:7; noted as the eastern boundary of the Promised Land, Deut 11:24; Josh 1:4; 1 Chr 5:9; and of David's conquests, 2 Sam 8:3; 1 Chr 18:3; of those of Babylon from Egypt, 2 Kgs 24:7; is referred to in prophecy, Jer 13:4-7; Jer 46:2-10; Jer 51:63, and in Revelation 9:14; Num 16:12. " By this stream the captive Jews wept. Ps 137:1. It is now called the Frat by the natives. For a sketch-map of the course of the Euphrates see Assyria. c. 410.
After this unites with the other chief stream, forming the Euphrates, the river is 120 yards wide. It was used to irrigate the valley around Babylon by means of numerous canals, dykes, and aqueducts, making the plain one of the most fertile spots in the world. It was announced in 1879 that a railroad had been projected along the Euphrates from Damascus to Bagdad. See Babylon and Chaldaea.
Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869)
that makes fruitful