Genesis 2:14

Summary

This verse names the third and fourth rivers branching from the river of Eden: Chiddekel (Tigris) and Perat (Euphrates). The Tigris is further identified by its geographical relation, described as flowing toward the east of Assyria.

Key words

• nahar ("river", H5104H) — masculine singular noun, repeated twice with the definite article ha (H9009), marking each river as a distinct, specified entity in the sequence.
• chiddekel ("Tigris", H2313) — proper name functioning as a predicate, following the construct chain "the name of the river" without a copula verb, as is typical in Hebrew nominal sentences.
• hu' ("it", H1931) — third person masculine pronoun used twice (once for each river), serving to link the noun to what follows, functioning like "that is" or "this is."
• ha-holekh ("the one going", H1980I) — qal participle with definite article, describing ongoing or characteristic motion; it modifies the river by identifying its course.
• kidmat ("east of", H6926) — feminine singular noun in construct state, forming a genitive relationship with Ashur ("Assyria", H0804G) to indicate direction.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel nominal clauses, each following the pattern: "[definite noun] + hu' + [proper name]." This construction—common in Hebrew for identification statements—omits a verb "to be," relying on the pronoun hu' (H1931) to function as a copula. The first clause is expanded: after naming the river Chiddekel (H2313), a second identifying clause is appended using the participle ha-holekh (H1980I) with hu', meaning literally "it is the one going," followed by the construct phrase kidmat Ashur (H6926 + H0804G), "east of Assyria." This participial construction presents the river's course not as a single completed action but as a continuous, defining characteristic—the river "goes" or "flows" as an ongoing state.

The second clause, concerning the nahar ha-revi'i ("the fourth river," H5104H + H7243), is comparatively minimal: it consists only of the naming formula "it is Perat" (H6578), without a locational participial clause. This asymmetry in structure—one river receiving a directional/geographic description and the other not—reflects how the Hebrew text allocates more grammatical material to the Tigris than to the Euphrates in this verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha-holekh (H1980I, "the one going") with the participle πορευόμενος ("going/proceeding"), preserving the ongoing-action sense. The Vulgate uses "vadit" (a finite present-tense verb, "it goes"), converting the Hebrew participial construction into a standard verbal clause rather than a participial modifier. The Hebrew kidmat (H6926, "east of") is rendered κατέναντι ("opposite," LXX) and "contra" ("against," Vulgate), both of which convey confrontation or facing rather than the more directional "east of" sense carried by the Hebrew construct noun.