Rivers of Damascus

The Rivers of Damascus — Abana and Pharpar — are mentioned in 2 Kings 5:12, where Naaman the Syrian commander, instructed by Elisha to wash seven times in the Jordan to be healed of his leprosy, protests indignantly: "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?" The Abana (modern Nahr Barada) was the principal river flowing through the oasis of Damascus, bringing the snowmelt of Mount Hermon through the city. The Pharpar (possibly modern Nahr el-Awaj) flowed south of Damascus. Both were clear, clean rivers supplying the fertile Damascus oasis. Naaman's servants persuaded him to comply with Elisha's instruction, and his healing exemplified that obedience to God's word matters more than the method's apparent reason.