The three principal rivers referred to in scripture are the Nile, the Jordan, and the Euphrates. The word employed for the Nile is yeor, “a fosse or channel”; for the Jordan and the Euphrates the word used is nahar, “a river” always supplied with water. The other streams in Palestine, though called “rivers,” as the Arnon, are torrents running in valleys; for the most part they have water only in the winter, and are then often impassable: these are described by the word nachal. For the symbolical river that Ezekiel saw issuing from the house this latter word is used (Ezekiel 47:5-12).
God will make His people drink of the river of His pleasures (Psa. 36:8); here the word is nachal. In Psalm 46:4 it is nahar. “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.” It will never run dry.
Nile—Luxor
Ford of the Zarqa – Jordan River
Euphrates River – Hilla