The name of the second river is Gihon: for Gihon see the discussion in verse 11. Flows around is the same as in verse 11. Land of Cush is sometimes translated “Ethiopia,” since that is how it was translated in the Septuagint. Egyptian inscriptions mention a people by that name as living south of Egypt. Ancient Ethiopia included much of the area that is today Sudan. Because the Nile runs through Sudan, the Gihon was identified with the Nile. It is possible, however, that Cush refers to an area (no longer identifiable) in Iraq, and so Good News Translation has a note “Cush (of Mesopotamia); or Ethiopia.” Because the location is uncertain most modern translations have “Cush,” with or without a footnote.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .