2313. Chiddeqel

Lexical Summary

Chiddeqel: Tigris

Original Word: חִדֶּקֶל
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Chiddeqel
Pronunciation: khid-deh'-kel
Phonetic Spelling: (khid-deh'-kel)
KJV: Hiddekel
NASB: Tigris
Word Origin: [probably of foreign origin]

1. the Chiddekel (or Tigris) river

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Hiddekel

Probably of foreign origin; the Chiddekel (or Tigris) river -- Hiddekel.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
probably of foreign origin
Definition
Hiddekel, ancient name of a Mesopotamian river
NASB Translation
Tigris (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

חִדֶּ֫קֶל proper name, of a river Tigris (Assyrian Idi‡lat, Di‡lat, Old Persian Tigrâ Spieg^{APK, Glossary, etc}.), the famous Assyr. river; see especially Dl^{Pa 110 f.}170ff.; ׳ח Genesis 2:14; חִדָּ֑קֶל Daniel 10:4.

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Occurrences

• Genesis 2:14 – “The name of the third river is the Tigris; it flows along the east side of Assyria.”
• Daniel 10:4 – “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris…”

Geographical Identification

Hiddekel is the ancient Hebrew designation of the river now universally known as the Tigris. Originating in the Armenian Highlands, it courses southeast through Mesopotamia, joining the Euphrates near the Persian Gulf. In Scripture it frames Eden’s eastern boundary (Genesis 2:14) and serves as the setting of Daniel’s final visionary encounter (Daniel 10:4). Together with the Euphrates, it forms a natural corridor that shaped Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian history—empires repeatedly encountered in the Old Testament narrative.

Historical Significance

1. Cradle of Early Civilization – The Hiddekel’s fertile floodplains nurtured the earliest cities of Sumer and Akkad. Genesis roots humanity’s beginnings in this environment, reaffirming the historical plausibility of the Eden account.
2. Imperial Highway – Assyria and later Persia relied on the river for transport and defense. Prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Nahum address these powers whose strength flowed, in part, from control of the Tigris.
3. Exilic Context – Daniel’s ministry unfolded in Babylonian-Persian domains. His vision by the Hiddekel links Israel’s prophetic hope to real geopolitical currents, underscoring that the God of Israel rules amid the world’s capitals.

Theological Themes

• Edenic Provision – The fourfold river system, including Hiddekel, testifies to God’s abundant provision in creation. The “gold of that land is good” (Genesis 2:12), and so is the water that sustains it.
• Sovereignty over Nations – Daniel’s encounter by the Hiddekel precedes a sweeping revelation of angelic warfare and future kingdoms (Daniel 10–12). The setting highlights that rivers, kings, and cosmic powers alike are subject to the LORD.
• Restoration Motif – The prophets envision a future river flowing from the renewed temple (Ezekiel 47:1–12) and from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1–2). Hiddekel, as an Eden river, foreshadows that ultimate life-giving stream.

Prophetic and Eschatological Considerations

Daniel 10 situates end-time revelation on the banks of Hiddekel, marking the river as a stage for unveiling the “time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). The geographic marker anchors prophecy in history while pointing beyond it. The angelic conflict described there illustrates that spiritual realities intersect earthly realms; rivers, cities, and empires become arenas of unseen warfare.

Ministry and Devotional Applications

• Creation Care – Hiddekel’s role in Eden encourages stewardship of waterways today. Believers may draw connections between the physical rivers of Genesis and the spiritual “living water” offered by Christ (John 7:38).
• Prayer and Fasting – Daniel’s experience (Daniel 10:2–3) shows that seasons of mourning, fasting, and prayer prepare the heart for deeper revelation. Modern ministry can adopt similar disciplines, expecting God to speak into contemporary “empires.”
• Hope amid Exile – As Daniel received strength by the Hiddekel while still under foreign rule, so exiled or marginalized believers can trust God to meet them within global centers of power.

Related Scripture References

Genesis 2:8–15; Ezekiel 47:1–12; Isaiah 8:7–8; Jeremiah 46:10; Nahum 1:1–8; Daniel 10:1–21; Revelation 22:1–2

Forms and Transliterations

חִדֶּ֔קֶל חִדָּֽקֶל׃ חדקל חדקל׃ chidDakel chidDekel ḥid·dā·qel ḥid·de·qel ḥiddāqel ḥiddeqel

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 2:14
HEB: הַנָּהָ֤ר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ חִדֶּ֔קֶל ה֥וּא הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ
NAS: river is Tigris; it flows
KJV: river [is] Hiddekel: that [is] it which goeth toward
INT: river of the third is Tigris it flows

Daniel 10:4
HEB: הַגָּד֖וֹל ה֥וּא חִדָּֽקֶל׃
NAS: river, that is, the Tigris,
KJV: river, which [is] Hiddekel;
INT: of the great that is the Tigris

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2313
2 Occurrences

ḥid·dā·qel — 1 Occ.
ḥid·de·qel — 1 Occ.