The Euphrates is the largest river in western Asia. It starts in the mountains of central Armenia, where two smaller rivers (the Kara-Su and the Murat-Suyu) join together.
The river flows southeast for about 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles). It meets the Tigris River near a place called Korna, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Persian Gulf.
For most of its length, the Euphrates is shallow. Small boats can travel about 1,930 kilometers (1,200 miles) along the river. Larger ships, such as ocean liners, can travel only after the Euphrates and Tigris rivers join, as far as the city of Basra.
The river rises in spring (March to June) because of melting snow in the mountains. In ancient times, people built canals to store water during this season. These canals helped control flooding and made farming successful. Because of this, the land could support many people.
The Euphrates was one of four rivers that came from the river that watered the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:14). God promised Abraham that his land would reach as far as the upper part of the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7; 11:24). During the time of Kings David and Solomon, Israel’s land almost reached this boundary (2 Samuel 8:3; 10:16; 1 Kings 4:24).
The Bible often calls to the Euphrates “the river” (Numbers 22:5; Deuteronomy 11:24; Joshua 24:3, 14). The Bible also calls the Euphrates “the great river” (Joshua 1:4). People who lived east of the Euphrates called the land of Israel “beyond the river” (Ezra 4:10; Nehemiah 2:7–9).
The prophet Jeremiah sent a man named Seraiah to this river with a book of prophecies. These prophecies were about the destruction of Babylon. After reading them, Jeremiah told Seraiah to throw the book into the Euphrates. This was a symbol for the way Babylon would never come back to power (Jeremiah 51:63).
The book of Revelation also mentions the Euphrates. It speaks of angels released at the river and a time when the river dries up to prepare the way for kings from the east (Revelation 9:14; 16:12).