In Numbers 34:5 (RSV, "brook of Egypt") the Hebrew word is nahal , denoting a stream flowing rapidly in winter, or in the rainy season. This is a desert stream on the borders of Egypt. It is now called the Wady el-'Arish. The present boundary between Egypt and Palestine is about midway between this wady and Gaza. (See Numbers 34:5 ; Joshua 15:4Joshua 15:47 ; 1 Kings 8:65 ; 2 Kings 24:7 ; Isaiah 27:12 ; Ezekiel 47:19 . In all these passages the RSV has "brook" and the A.V. "river.")
These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. "Entry for River of Egypt". "Easton's Bible Dictionary". .
A desert stream on the border of Egypt, still occasionally flowing in the valley called Wadi-l-Areesh . The centre of the valley is occupied by the bed of this torrent, which only flows after rains, as is usual in the desert valleys. This stream is first mentioned as the point where the southern border of the promised land touched the Mediterranean, which formed its western border. ( Numbers 34:3-6 ) In the latter history we find Solomons kingdom extending from the "entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt," ( 1 Kings 8:65 ) and Egypt limited in the same manner where the loss of the eastern provinces is mentioned. ( 2 Kings 24:7 )
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
Bibliography InformationSmith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'River of Egypt'". "Smith's Bible Dictionary". . 1901.