Brook of Egypt

The Brook of Egypt formed a natural border between Israel’s Negev Desert and the Sinai Peninsula. It was about 80.5 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Gaza. It is usually identified with the modern Wadi el-Arish, a seasonal stream that flows only during the rainy season (Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:4, 47; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings 24:7; 2 Chronicles 7:8; Isaiah 27:12; Ezekiel 47:19; 48:28).

Genesis 15:18 uses a different Hebrew word that usually means a river that flows throughout the year. In that passage, God described the boundaries of the promised land to Abraham. The river may have been the eastern branch of the Nile, called the Pelusiac branch, which flowed into the Mediterranean Sea near modern Port Said. The reference may also include the line of ancient fortifications along Egypt’s border.