Places in the Bible · River

Abana

Abana is a river mentioned in 1 verse. Its most likely location is Barada River. The name means “made of stone; a building.”

closeup of the Barada River
closeup of the Barada River · Photo: Arch rim (CC-BY-SA-4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Where is Abana?

Approx. 33.5135, 36.3050 · OpenStreetMap · Google Maps

Possible modern locations

IdentificationTypeConfidence
Barada RiverriverHigh

Abana in the Bible dictionary

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.

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain. Full dictionary entry →

Verses that mention Abana

  • 2 Kings 5:12

    Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.