13 The name of the second river is Gusher. וְשֵֽׁם־הַנָּהָ֥ר הַשֵּׁנִ֖י גִּיח֑וֹן
גִּיח֑וֹן Giḥon is the name of a spring in Jerusalem, the one whose waters run through Hezekiah’s tunnel (see 2 Chr 32:30 and 33:14). Solomon was rushed to the Gihon in 1 Kings (vv. 33, 38, 45) to be crowned when his older brother Adonijah was presenting himself as David’s successor. Why Solomon had to be crowned at the Gihon is an interesting question that I’m not going to try to answer today. Instead, we’re going to take a long but informative detour.
You probably do not need to be told that the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem does not flow all around the land of Cush or any other. Our Gusher is not the Gihon Spring. This is another onomatopoeic name, like Pisher/Pishon, that is meant to evoke the sound of rushing water. The root גיח is indeed a verb meaning “to gush”; see Job 38:8 and four other times in the Bible.
Job 40:23 is particularly interesting in this connection:
He restrains River [נָ֭הָר/nahar] lest it hasten
Makes Jordan gush [יָגִ֖יחַ/yagiaḥ] toward its mouth.
And these verses from Ben Sira 24 are why I find the connection between the river Jordan and the verb גיח ‘gush’ so interesting:
25It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom,
and like the Tigris at the time of the firstfruits.
26It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding,
and like the Jordan at harvest time.
27It pours forth instruction like the Nile,
like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
[translation by Benjamin G. Wright III from Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture (Jewish Publication Society)]
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