Genesis 2:13

13. Gihon This name occurs again only as denoting a fountain near Jerusalem . 1 Kings 1:33; 1Ki 1:38 ; 1 Kings 1:45; 2 Chronicles 32:30.

Compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia The attempt to explain this as referring to any of the lands subsequently known as Ethiopia, or Cush, are, perhaps, the best possible refutation of the notion that the rivers of Eden are identical with any rivers now known . Cush was evidently the name of a region or country in the land of Eden, and it was very natural for Ham, the son of Noah, after the flood to name one of his sons in memory of this ancient country. Genesis 10:6. The same considerations apply to the names Hiddekel, Assyria, (or Asshur; compare Genesis 10:11; Genesis 10:22,) and Euphrates, or Phrath, in the following verse . There is no sufficient reason for the belief that the original rivers and countries of Eden remained traceable after the flood.