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Bible Dictionaries
Brook
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
or is distinguished from a river by its flowing only at particular times; for example, after great rains, or the melting of the snow; whereas a river flows constantly at all seasons. However, this distinction is not always observed in the Scripture; and one is not unfrequently taken for the other,—the great rivers, such as the Euphrates, the Nile, the Jordan, and others being called brooks. Thus the Euphrates, Isaiah 15:7 , is called the brook of willows. It is observed that the Hebrew word, נחל , which signifies a brook, is also the term for a valley, whence the one is often placed for the other, in different translations of the Scriptures. To deal deceitfully "as a brook," and to "pass away as the stream thereof," is to deceive our friend when he most needs and expects our help and comfort, Job 6:15; because brooks, being temporary streams, are dried up in the heats of summer, when the traveller most needs a supply of water on his journey.
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Watson, Richard. Entry for 'Brook'. Richard Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wtd/b/brook.html. 1831-2.
