Abanah

Abanah [Heb. ʾabanah, 'amana "constant"]. Name of a river known to the Greeks as Chrysorrhoas. The water from this river still flows through Syria's capital city, Damascus. It is now referred to as Barada by the Syrians. Its source is in the Anti-Lebanon mountains (cf. Song 4:8, where Amana is mentioned). The Syrian general Naaman felt insulted when Elisha asked him to wash seven times in the Jordan River for the healing of his leprosy (2 Kgs 5:1-3, 10-12). Naaman believed that the Abanah and Pharpar rivers in Syria were clean and better for healing purposes than any other river. Nonetheless, he obeyed the prophet and received healing (2 Kgs 5:14).