PALESTINE DI EQUATOR (DI BAWAH GARIS KATULISTIWA)
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NEGERI-NEGERI SUBUR DI KATULISTIWA (EQUATOR) |
Identification of the Four Rivers.
The Midrash (Gen. R. xvi. 7)
identifies the "four heads" of the rivers with Babylon (Pison),
Medo-Persia (Gihon), Greece (Hiddekel), Edom-Rome (Perat), and regards Havilah
as Palestine. The Targum Yerushalmi translates "Havilah" by "Hindiki"
("Hindustan," or India), and leaves "Pison" untranslated.
Saadia Gaon, in his Arabic translation, renders "Pison" the Nile,
which Ibn Ezra ridicules, as "it is positively known that Eden is farther
south, on the equator." Naḥmanides coincides in this view, but explains that
the Pison may run in a subterranean passage from the equator northward. Obadiah
of Bertinoro, the commentator of the Mishnah, in a letter describing his
travels from Italy to Jerusalem in 1489, relates the story of Jews arriving at
Jerusalem from "Aden, the land where the well-known and famous Gan Eden is
situated, which is southeast of Assyria." Jacob Safir, who visited Aden in
1865, describes it in his "Eben Sappir" (ii.3) as sandy and barren,
and can not posssibly indorse the idea of connecting Aden with the Eden of
Genesis. The opinions of the most eminent Jewish authorities point to the
location of Eden in Arabia. The "four heads" or mouths of the
rivers(= seas) are probably the Persian Gulf (east), the Gulf of Aden (south),
the Caspian Sea (north), and the Red Sea (west). The first river, Pison,
probably refers to the Indus, which encircles Hindustan, confirming the Targum
Yerushalmi. The second river, Gihon, is the Nile in its circuitous course
around Ethiopia, connecting with the Gulf of Aden. The third river, Hiddekel,
is the Tigris, which has its course in the front () of
Assur (= Persia), speaking from the writer's point of view in Palestine. Some
explain the difficulty of finding the courses of the rivers by supposing that
since the Deluge these rivers have either ceased to exist, entirely or in part,
or have found subterranean outlets. Indeed, the compiler of the Midrash
ha-Gadol expresses himself as follows: "Eden is a certain place on earth,
but no creature knows where it is, and the Holy One, blessed be He! will only
reveal to Israel the way to it in the days of the king Messiah" (Midr.
ha-Gadol, ed. Schechter, col. 75).
TERJEMAHAN DI ATAS
Identifikasi
Empat Sungai.
Midrash
(Jenderal R. xvi. 7) mengidentifikasi "empat kepala" sungai dengan
Babel (Pison), Medo-Persia (Gihon), Yunani (Hiddekel), Edom-Roma (Perat), dan
menganggap Havilah sebagai Palestina. . Targum Yerushalmi menerjemahkan
"Havilah" oleh "Hindiki" ("Hindustan," atau
India), dan membiarkan "Pison" tidak diterjemahkan. Saadia Gaon,
dalam terjemahan bahasa Arabnya, menerjemahkan "Pison" the Nile, yang
diolok-olok Ibn Ezra, sebagai "diketahui secara positif bahwa Eden lebih
jauh ke selatan, di garis katulistiwa." Naḥmanides bertepatan dalam
pandangan ini, tetapi menjelaskan bahwa Pison dapat berjalan di bagian bawah
tanah dari garis khatulistiwa ke utara. Obaja dari Bertinoro, komentator
Mishnah, dalam sebuah surat yang menggambarkan perjalanannya dari Italia ke
Yerusalem pada tahun 1489, menceritakan kisah orang-orang Yahudi yang tiba di
Yerusalem dari "Aden,) dari
Assur (= Persia), berbicara dari sudut pandang penulis di Palestina. Beberapa
orang menjelaskan sulitnya menemukan jalur sungai dengan mengandaikan bahwa
sejak Air Bah, sungai-sungai ini sudah tidak ada lagi, seluruhnya atau
sebagian, atau telah menemukan outlet bawah tanah. Memang, penyusun
Midrash ha-Gadol mengekspresikan dirinya sebagai berikut: "Eden adalah
tempat tertentu di bumi, tetapi tidak ada makhluk yang tahu di mana itu, dan
Yang Mahakudus, diberkati menjadi Dia! Hanya akan mengungkapkan kepada Israel
jalan ke sana. pada zaman raja Mesias "(Midr. ha-Gadol, ed. Schechter,
col. 75).
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