“The river of Egypt” (Ge 15:18) may be the same as “the torrent valley of Egypt.”​—Nu 34:5; see SHIHOR.

The Euphrates is often simply called “the River.” (Jos 24:2, 3; Ezr 8:36; Isa 7:20; 27:12; Mic 7:12) Being the longest and most important river of SW Asia, the Euphrates was “the great river” to the Hebrews. (Ge 15:18) Therefore, its being referred to as “the River” resulted in no ambiguity.

Jehovah promised that Abraham’s seed would be given the land “from the river of Egypt” to the Euphrates River. (Ge 15:18) Commentators generally understand “the river of Egypt” to refer to “the torrent valley of Egypt” now identified with Wadi el-ʽArish of the Sinai Peninsula, which empties into the Mediterranean Sea about 150 km (90 mi) E of Port Said. (See EGYPT, TORRENT VALLEY OF.) At 1 Chronicles 13:5 certain translations read “river [shi·chohrʹ] of Egypt” (NW, La, AT), and this reference also may be to Wadi el-ʽArish. However, another possibility is that both texts refer to a branch of the Nile.​—See SHIHOR.