Tigris River
A place in the Bible
One of the two great rivers of Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates. It flows toward the land of the Assyrians.
What happened here
- Eden: Genesis names it among the four rivers that flowed out of the garden of Eden.
- Tobiah and the fish: on the journey, Tobiah stopped by the Tigris River. As he washed his feet, a very large fish leaped up. The angel told him to catch it and take out its heart, gall, and liver, because they were useful as medicine.
Today
It is still one of the great rivers of Iraq. It flows past the city of Mosul, across from the ruins of Nineveh.
Where it appears in the Bible
Genesis 2:14; Genesis 2:10; Tobit 6:2-5
What the Bible says
Genesis 2:14
And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
Genesis 2:10
And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads.
Tobit 6:2-5
2And Tobias went forward, and the dog followed him, and he lodged the first night by the river of Tigris. 3And he went out to wash his feet, and behold a monstrous fish came up to devour him. And Tobias being afraid of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying: Sir, he cometh upon me. 4And the angel said to him: Take him by the gill, and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, he drew him out upon the land, and he began to pant before his feet. 5Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of the fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Genesis 2:14; Tobit 6:2-5; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Nineveh”