Genesis 2:11

Summary

The verse names the first of the four rivers mentioned in the preceding context: Pishon ("Pishon", H6376). It states that this river encircles the whole territory called Chavilah ("Havilah", H2341G), a land characterized by the presence of zahav ("gold", H2091).

Key words

• shem ("name of", H8034) — masculine singular noun in construct state, opening the verse as "the name of [the one]," setting up an identification formula.
• ha'echad ("the one", H0259) — cardinal number with definite article, functioning as a substantive ("the first one" / "the one [river]"), referring back to a river from the prior verse's enumeration.
• hu ("it/he", H1931) — independent personal pronoun, resuming the subject (Pishon) before the following verb, a common Hebrew construction to introduce a further description ("it is the one that...").
• hassovev ("the one going around", H5437G) — qal participle, masculine singular, with definite article, describing an ongoing or characteristic action ("the encircling one") rather than a completed act.
• asher-sham ("where there", H0834A + H8033G) — relative particle combined with a locative adverb, forming the clause "where there is," introducing the final statement about gold.

What the text says

The verse is built as a naming formula followed by a descriptive relative clause. It opens with shem ha'echad ("the name of the one"), a construct phrase that identifies which of the previously listed rivers is being discussed, before giving its proper name, Pishon. The resumptive pronoun hu ("it") then reintroduces the subject to attach a further description, a common Hebrew stylistic device that Spanish and English translations render simply as "this is the one that..." or omit as a separate river description.

The core predicate uses the participle hassovev ("the one going around", H5437G), marked with the definite article, functioning almost like a relative clause in itself ("the encircling one"). The object of this participle is introduced by the untranslatable marker 'et (H0853) followed by kol-'eretz hachavilah ("all the land of Havilah"), a construct chain specifying the territorial extent encircled by the river. The final clause, introduced by asher-sham ("where there"), shifts to a stative description of the land itself, stating the presence of hazahav ("the gold", H2091), with the definite article marking it as a specific, known substance in that locale rather than gold in general.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the participle hassovev ("the one going around") with circuit ("goes around"), matching the Hebrew's encircling sense, and additionally adds nascitur ("is born/originates") for the gold clause, where the Hebrew simply states sham hazahav ("there is the gold") without any verb of origin. The LXX uses κυκλῶν ("encircling"), closely following the Hebrew participle, and also lacks any verb for the gold clause, stating only ἐκεῖ ἐστιν τὸ χρυσίον ("there is the gold"), aligning with the Hebrew's verbless construction rather than the Vulgate's addition.