Gihon

Gihon (meaning valley of grace or bursting forth) refers to two distinct locations in Scripture. (1.) One of the four rivers of Eden (Gen. 2:13), which encompassed the land of Cush. Its identification is disputed — proposed candidates include the Nile, the Araxes, and various other streams, with no scholarly consensus. (2.) A spring on the eastern slope of the hill of Ophel in Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley. This was the principal water supply for ancient Jerusalem, and it was at this spring that Solomon was anointed king while Adonijah was attempting to seize the throne (1 Kings 1:33–34, 38–45). King Hezekiah later diverted Gihon's waters through the famous Siloam Tunnel (2 Chr. 32:30) to protect the city's water supply during the Assyrian siege — an engineering feat confirmed by the Siloam Inscription discovered in 1880.