Tigris

The river that—together with the Euphrates—defines Mesopotamia ("the land between the rivers"). The Tigris (hiddekel in Hebrew, cf., KJV) has its sources in what is today eastern Turkey, very near to those of the Euphrates. Upon leaving the mountains, however, they flow in opposite directions; the Tigris heads south-east, before merging with the Euphrates again just south of the ancient city of Ur, before their final leg to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris is also joined in its upper stretches by four main tributaries on its eastern bank, with their sources in the Kurdish and the Zagros Mountains; these are the Greater and Lesser Zeb, the Adhaim, and the Diyala. The length of the Tigris is about 1150 miles/1840 km.

Like its companion, the Tigris has attracted many ancients to settle on its banks, of which the most important cities include Nineveh, Calah, Asshur, and modern Mosul and Baghdad. Being the deeper and, therefore, swifter of the two, the Tigris attracted far less traffic than the Euphrates.

Located much further to the east than the Euphrates, the Tigris has far less influence on the affairs of ancient Israel and is referenced only twice in the OT. First mentioned, together with the Euphrates, as one of the four rivers flowing out of Eden (Gen 2:14), it's bank was also the site of Daniel's visionary encounter with the "man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold round his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude" who open his eyes to the approaching grand conflict of the nations (Dan 10:4ff.).

Readers of the KJV/AV and NKJ will find the name Hiddekel instead of Tigris, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew name (chiddeqel) for the river. The modern Arab name for the Tigris is Nahr Dijlah.