Abana: Stony (Heb. marg. "Amanah," perennial), the chief river of Damascus
(2 Kings 5:12) Its modern name is Barada, the Chrysorrhoas, or "golden
stream," of the Greeks. It rises in a cleft of the Anti-Lebanon
range, about 23 miles north-west of Damascus, and after flowing
southward for a little way parts into three smaller streams, the
central one flowing through Damascus, and the other two on each side
of the city, diffusing beauty and fertility where otherwise there
would be barrenness.
