Hebrew word · H6376

פִּישׁוֹן

pishon

Pishon

A proper name, used in the Hebrew Bible only here. It is usually linked (per HALOT) to the root pûsh, "to spring up, gallop, leap, spread out" (Hab 1:8; Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2/3:20), so it may mean something like "gusher" or "one that bursts forth."

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Pison = "increase"

one of the four rivers used to describe the location of the garden of Eden

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 2:11

Range of meaning

A proper name, used in the Hebrew Bible only here. It is usually linked (per HALOT) to the root pûsh, "to spring up, gallop, leap, spread out" (Hab 1:8; Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2/3:20), so it may mean something like "gusher" or "one that bursts forth."

Against the English

English simply transliterates it: KJV "Pison" (from the Greek/Latin spelling), modern versions "Pishon."

Used elsewhere in the period

Sirach 24:25 (2nd century BC) praises the Law, which "fills with wisdom like the Pishon," so the river had become a picture of overflowing abundance. Josephus (Antiquities 1.38–39) says the name means "multitude" or "fullness" and identifies it with the Ganges. Rashi, following earlier rabbinic tradition, explains the name from the same root ("its waters increase and rise") and identifies it with the Nile.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 2:11 פִּישׁ֑וֹן [is] Pishon

    The name of the first river is the Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

    Here: A river named only here in the Hebrew Bible. Its name probably comes from a root meaning "to spring up, gush, leap," so it may suggest a "gusher" or freely flowing stream. Its identity is unknown.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.