sambation

According to rabbinic literature, the Sambation is the river beyond which the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V exiled the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. In the earliest references, such as the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the river is not attributed any extraordinary properties. Later traditions, however, describe it as raging with violent rapids and hurling stones for six days of the week, or even as consisting entirely of stone, sand, and flame.

During those six days the Sambation is impassable, but every Sabbath, when Jews are forbidden to travel, it comes to a complete rest. Some authors see in this paradox the origin of the river's name.

(1)