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TIGRIS

(Gk. Tígris)

The easternmost of the two rivers which give the region of Mesopotamia its name (Gk. mesopotamos, lit., “beween the rivers”). The Tigris (Heb. ḥiddeqel; Akk. idiglat) may have at one time emptied into the Persian Gulf, though today it and the Euphrates share a common mouth for some 64 km. (40 mi.), the Shaṭṭ al-ʿArab.

Though the two rivers are intertwined both physically and historically, riverine life is sharply contrasted between the Tigris and the Euphrates. The Tigris was not utilized for irrigation until Islamic times, and then only in the region S of Samarra (ca. 644 km. [400 mi.] from the Persian Gulf). The Euphrates was employed in irrigation agriculture for ca. 2092 km. (1300 mi.) of its length, from Syria to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris has a much narrower channel, and descends at a much sharper grade than the Euphrates. Further, the region drained by the Tigris (e.g., the Zagros Mountains) includes more snowmelt (cf. Sir. 24:25). Finally, the river is affected throughout its length by winter rains, occurring from March through May, just prior to the highest snowmelt period. These factors make the Tigris prone to flooding, thus rendering life along the river precarious.

The Tigris Valley, for the most part, is within the range of dry farming, above the 200 mm. (7.8 in.) isohyet. Thus the area is agriculturally productive despite its lack of river water. The river is at its low point during planting, and the flood comes just prior to maturation of the crops, often negating the positive effects of the rainy season. Animal husbandry flourishes in the more marginal regions. The river was navigable by most riverine craft of antiquity. Its primary tributaries are the Greater Zab, the Lesser Zab, and the Diyala (the latter was the terminus of the silk road to China).

The entirety of the system fell within the cultural realm of southern Mesopotamia. Sargon conquered the region, with inscriptions discovered in the Diyala Valley (ca. 2300 b.c.e.). The region was the homeland of Assyria, which was never completely subsumed by southern Mesopotamian culture. Nineveh, Calah, Kar-shalmanezer, and Assur are all located on the Tigris. The Hurrian Empire reached the north bank of the Tigris (16th-15th centuries).

The Tigris is mentioned as one of the rivers flowing from the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:14). The significance of this identification is that it is one of the rivers which Yahweh created in order to bring life to the world, in his role of creator and sustainer of all. The river is mentioned elsewhere in the OT only in Dan. 10:4, likely as a mistaken gloss for “the great river,” an epithet normally applied to the Euphrates (the gloss preserved in the Peshiṭta).

Mark Anthony Phelps

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TIGRIS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)