Pharpar in Biblical History

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What is Pharpar?
PHAR'PAR
(swift), a river of Damascus named by Naaman. 2 Kgs 5:12. It is about 8 miles from Damascus, and is the modern Awaj, while the Abana is the modern Barada. The Pharpar, or Awaj, rises high up on the eastern side of Hermon, near the mountain-village of Beit Jann. There are several other small streams, which unite near Sasa, and the river flows eastward in a serpentine course through a deep glen and thickets of poplars and willows, and through green meadows rendered fertile by its waters. It empties into a lake or marsh called Bahret Hijaueh, about 4 miles south of the lake into which the Barada falls, and about 16 miles south of Damascus. In spring and summer these so-called "meadow-lakes" are of considerable size, but in autumn and winter they are mere morasses. The Awaj flows across the plain of Damascus, but its waters are diminished by canals constructed to irrigate the fields and gardens almost up to the walls of the city. Its length is from 30 to 40 miles, and it is a much smaller stream than the Barada, for it is described as a little and lively stream, often dry in the lower part of its course, while the Barada is perennial and is a copious stream in the hottest season. The traveller from Banias to Damascus now crosses a deep ravine east of Hermon, through which runs the Nahr Barbar, a name in which the ancient Pharpar survives, according to Baedeker, but it no longer falls into the el-Awaj.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'pharpar' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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