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.