stony (Heb. marg. "Amanah," perennial), the chief river of

Damascus (2 Kings 5:12). Its modern name is Barada, the

Chrysorrhoas, or "golden stream," of the Greeks. It rises in a

cleft of the Anti-Lebanon range, about 23 miles north-west of

Damascus, and after flowing southward for a little way parts

into three smaller streams, the central one flowing through

Damascus, and the other two on each side of the city, diffusing

beauty and fertility where otherwise there would be barrenness.