The Brook of Egypt () is a

wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

identified in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

. A number of scholars in the past identified it with

Wadi al-Arish Wadi al-Arish is a dry riverbed in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The river, when it flowed, was 250 kilometers long and flowed intro the Mediterranean Sea near the town of Arish. Wadi al-Arish is considered by some, including geographer Ishtori H ...

, an ephemeral river flowing into the

Mediterranean sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

near the Egyptian city of

Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ' ) is the capital and largest city of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediterranean coast northeast of Cairo and west of the Egypt–Gaza border ...

, while other scholars, including Israeli archaeologist

Nadav Na'aman Nadav Na'aman (Hebrew language, Hebrew: נדב נעמן; born in 1939 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli archaeologist and historian. He specializes in the study of the Near East in the second and first millenniums Current Era , BCE. His research combin ...

and the Italian

Mario Liverani Mario Liverani (born 10 January 1939 in Rome), is an Italian historian and Professor of Ancient Near East History at the University of Rome La Sapienza. He is a member of many institutions, such as the American Oriental Society, Accademia delle Sc ...

believe that the

Besor stream Wadi Gaza () and Besor Stream (, ) are parts of a river system in the Gaza Strip in Palestine and the Negev region of Israel. Wadi Gaza is a wadi (river valley) that divides the northern and southern ends of the Gaza Strip, whose major tributar ...

, just to the south of

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

, is the landform referenced in the Bible. A related phrase is ('river of Egypt'), used in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

Nahal Besor

The Israeli archaeologist Nadav Na'aman and the Italian

have suggested that Wadi Gaza or

Nahal Besor Wadi Gaza () and Besor Stream (, ) are parts of a river system in the Gaza Strip in Palestine and the Negev region of Israel. Wadi Gaza is a wadi (river valley) that divides the northern and southern ends of the Gaza Strip, whose major tributar ...

, was the Brook of Egypt.Nadav Na'aman
The Brook of Egypt and Assyrian Policy on the Egyptian Border.
Tel Aviv 6 (1979), pp. 68–90Mario Liverani (1995). Neo-Assyrian geography, p. 111. Università di Roma, Dipartimento di scienze storiche, archeologiche e antropologiche dell'Antichità. Certainly, it was controlled by

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in the Late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and inhabited by

Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...

into the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

Wadi al-Arish

According to

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

, the locality from which the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

journeyed after departing Egypt was

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

. The name ''Sukkot'' means "palm huts" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and was translated ''Al-Arish'' in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. It lies in the vicinity of

, the hometown of the Jewish commentator

Saadia Gaon Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...

who identified ''Naḥal Mizraim'' with the

Ishtori Haparchi Ishtori Haparchi (1280–1355), also Estori Haparchi and Ashtori ha-Parhi () is the pen name of the 14th-century Jewish physician, geographer, and traveller, Isaac HaKohen Ben Moses.''Encyclopedia Judaica'' Keter, Jerusalem, 1972, "Estori Ha-Parch ...

, in his 14th-century work ''Kaftor va-Ferach (

: כפתור ופרח)'', also identifies the Brook of Egypt as Wadi al-Arish. The

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

translates ''Naḥal Mizraim'' in

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

as ''

Rhinocorura ''Rhinocorura'' (, or , ''Rhinokoúroura'') or ''Rhinocolura'' (, ''Rhinokóloura'') was the name of a region and one or more associated towns and rivers lying between Ancient Egypt and Palestine. The name may refer explicitly to: * As ''Rhinoco ...

''. Although in later Hebrew the term ''naḥal'' tended to be used for small rivers, in

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

, the word could be used for any wadi or river valley. According to Sara Japhet,

"Nahal Mizraim" is Wadi al-Arish, which empties into the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
about 30 miles south of Raphia, and "Shihor Mizraim" is the Nile.

Possible interpretation as the Nile

One traditional Jewish understanding of the term ''Naḥal Mizraim'' is that it refers to the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. This view appears in the Palestinian Targum on Numbers 34:5, where נחלה מצרים is translated נילוס דמצריי ("the Nile of the Egyptians"; preserved in the Neophiti and Vatican manuscripts, as well as in Pseudo-Jonathan), in addition to medieval commentaries by

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

and

David Kimhi ''Cervera Bible'', David Kimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi (, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian ...

on Joshua 13:3. However, most commentators, such as

Targum Onkelos Interlinear text of Hebrew Numbers 6.3–10 with British_Library.html" ;"title="Aramaic Targum Onkelos from the British Library">Aramaic Targum Onkelos from the British Library. Targum Onkelos (or Onqelos; , ''Targūm ’Unqəlōs'') is t ...

Abraham Ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

Bahya ben Asher Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda. Biograp ...

Samuel David Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto (, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian-Austrian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. Early life Luzzatto was born ...

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 – 10 August 1893), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was a Russian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva ( dean) of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several work ...

and Moisè Tedeschi on Numbers 34:5, reject this interpretation.

References

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