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Brook Of EgyptThe Brook of Egypt is the name used in certain English translations of the Bible for the Hebrew Nachal Mitzrayim ("River of Egypt") used for the river defining the westernmost border of the Land of Israel. It has commonly been identified with Wadi El-Arish but modern scholars identify it with the Pelusian arm of the Nile - a no longer extant branch of the Nile lying on the border of Ancient Egypt. Occurrences of the name - Genesis 15:18 employs the expression Nahar Mitzrayim for the border which is usually translated instead as "River of Egypt", nahar denoting "large river".
- Ezekiel 47:19; 48:28 refers to it simply as Nachal ("River").
- I Chronicles 13:5 refers to it as Shichor Mitzrayim ("Dark River of Egypt") often translated as "Shihor the Brook of Egypt".
- Joshua 13:3; Isaiah 23:3 and Jeremiah 2:18 refer to it simply as Shichor ("Dark River") usually translated by the proper noun "Shihor".
Isaiah 23:3 equates Shichor with Ye'or. Ye'or, usually translated "River" or "Nile", is used in Genesis 41:1-18; Exodus 1:22, 2:3-5, 4:9, 7:15-25, 8:3-11, 17:5; Ezekiel 29:3-9; Daniel 12:5-7; Isaiah 19:7-8, 23:3-10; Jeremiah 46:7-8 and Zechariah 10:11. In Amos 8:8, 9:5 we find Ye'or Mitzrayim, usually translated "River of Egypt". Taking into consideration Isaiah 23:3 these should be considered as additional references, however, as Ye'or is recognized as meaning Nile (see below), Isaiah 23:3 is usually ignored by those who identify Nachal Mitzrayim with the Wadi El-Arish. (As Daniel lived in Babylonia, the reference in Daniel 12:5-7 is sometimes assumed to be a usage of the term ye'or as a common noun meaning "(dark) river" or "channel" although it occurs in a prophecy that can be understood to apply to Egypt suggesting that it too is a reference to the Nile.) Traditional interpretation as the Nile The traditional Jewish understanding of the term Nachal Mitzrayim is that it refers to the Nile. This view is made explict in the Jerusalem Talmud, the Targum Jonathan and the commentaries of Rashi and Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. Nevertheless the term Nachal Mitzrayim is only used when discussing the border of the Land of Israel whereas Ye'or is typically used for the main body of the Nile. This suggests that there is indeed some difference in meaning. Since the Land of Israel did not extend into the Nile Delta the most probable interpretation of the term is that it refers specifically to the Delta or the Pelusian arm of the Nile. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi explicitly identified it with the Pelusian arm. The name Nile (Greek: Neilos) is thought to be ultimately derived from the Semitic Nahal meaning "river" from which the Hebrew nachal is derived. Later interpretation as Wadi El-Arish The identification with the Wadi el-Arish results from the Septuagint translation of Nachal Mitzrayim in Isaiah 27:12 as Rhinocorura, a reference to the Pelusian arm of the Nile which subsequently ran dry and disappeared. This name and its variant Rhinocolura were later used for an entire district in Sinai and also for a coastal town identified with El-Arish. The disappearance of the Pelusian arm led to the interpretation that Rhinocorura was the wadi providing water to El-Arish. The translation of the term nachal as "brook" in English, a word implying a small stream, also influenced the interpretation. This translation is generally regarded as erroneous however, for although in later Hebrew the term nachal tended to be used for small rivers, in Biblical Hebrew, the word could be used for any flowing stream. Its usage, even in modern Hebrew, does not match that of the Arabic wadi. The Jewish commentators Saadia Gaon and Radbaz also identify Nachal Mitzrayim with a locality they call Wadi el-Arish. However el-Arish denotes "the huts" in Arabic and this was generally understood to be a reference to the Biblical locality Sukkot (Hebrew for "huts") which lay near Saadia Gaon's hometown of Fayyum. This is in the vicinity of the Pelusian arm of the Nile and thus consistent with the traditional interpretation. The identification with the Wadi El-Arish is still widely accepted in popular literature but has been generally rejected by archaeologists. Identification based on archaeological evidence While Rhinocolura (a variant of Rhinocorura) in the writings of Pliny and Josephus apparently refer to El-Arish, archaeologists have found no evidence of occupation at the site prior to the Hellenistic period suggesting that this was not identical to the locality Rhinocorura mentioned by Strabo and Diodorus Siculus which had been settled by Ethiopians. Thus the Rhinocorura mentioned in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 27:12 cannot be assumed to be the Wadi El-Arish. The name was also used for an entire district in the vicinity of Pelusium. Assyrian texts describing Sennacherib's invasion of the region of Pelusium mention Nahal Musri (a cognate of Nachal Mitzrayim) 1. Egyptian inscriptions from the 19th Dynasty show that the Pelusian arm of the Nile was considered to be the eastern border of Egypt 2. Identification based on textual analysis Hebrew text An examination of the Hebrew text confirms the traditional view as can be seen from the following points: - Joshua 13:3 and I Chronicles 13:5 use the terms Shichor and Shichor Mitzrayim as synonyms for Nachal Mitzrayim denoting the western border.
- Isaiah 23:3 equates the Shichor (Shihor) with the Ye'or. It also describes its as "great waters" and speaks of its "seed" and "harvest". Moreover, shichor is a direct Hebrew translation of the Egyptian: ye'or meaning "dark river".
- Ye'or is undisputedely a reference to the Nile.
In addition, Genesis 15:18 refers to the western border of the Land of Israel as Nahar Mitzrayim i.e. "Great River of Egypt". Unlike nachal which can denote both rivers and wadis, nahar is only used for large rivers whence Nahar Mitzrayim conclusively refers to the Nile. Septuagint Nachal Mitzrayim in Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:47 and 2 Kings 24:7 are translated Cheimarros Aigyptou ("Torrent of Egypt") in the Septuagint. This translation sheds no light on the identity of Nachal Mitzrayim being applicable to both the seasonally flooding Nile and seasonal wadis. The translation Pharangos Aigyptou ("Channel of Egypt") in Joshua 15:4 is similarly inconclusive. However, Nachal Mitzrayim in 1 Kings 8:65, together with Nahar Mitzrayim in Genesis 15:18 and Ye'or Mitzrayim in Amos 8:8, 9:5 are all translated Potomos Aigyptou ("River of Egypt") indicating that they were all understood to be the same. As mentioned Ye'or undisputedly refers to the Nile and in addition, potomos is only used for larger rivers not wadis, whence Potomos Aigyptou conlusively refers to the Nile. The proper noun Rhinokoroura (Rhinocorura) in the translation of Isaiah 27:12 can thus be understood as the designation of the Pelusian arm of the Nile. (Ye'or in Genesis 41:1-18; Exodus 1:22, 2:3-5, 4:9, 7:15-25, 8:3-11, 17:5; Ezekiel 29:3-9; Daniel 12:5-7; Isaiah 19:7-8; Jeremiah 46:7-8 and Zechariah 10:11 are all translated potomos ("river"). Isaiah 23:3-10 is not translated verbatim in the Septuagint which contains no direct translation of the occurrence of Ye'or in these verses. Similarly it contains no direct translation of the occurrences of Nachal in Ezekiel 47:19.) In Joshua 13:3, Shichor is translated asikēton ("muddy river") corresponding to the Hebrew meaning of "dark (i.e. muddy) river". Similarly in Jeremiah 2:18 it is translated geon ("earthy river"). However in other occurrences it is not translated verbatim. The translation of I Chronicles 13:5 speaks instead of orion Aigyptou ("border of Egypt") which nevertheless confirms that the Shichor was understood to be identical to Nachal Mitzrayim and Nahar Miztrayim which are explicitly mentioned as the border with Egypt. Similarly in Isaiah 23:3 it is represented by metabolē ("border crossing"). References - Na'aman, N., The Brook of Egypt and Assyrian policy on the border of Egypt, Tel Aviv 6, 68-90 (1979)
- The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979) p. 549-550.
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