Brook of Egypt

Brook of Egypt is the name used in some English translations of the Bible (e.g., JPS 1917, NKJV, NLT) for the Hebrew נַחַל מִצְרַיִם‎, naḥal mizraim ("Wadi of Egypt" NRSV), a river (bed) forming the southernmost border of the Land of Israel. A number of scholars in the past identified it with Wadi el-Arish, an epiphemeral river flowing into the Mediterranean sea near the Egyptian city of Arish, while other scholars, including Israeli archaeologist Nadav Na'aman and the Italian Mario Liverani believe that the Besor stream, just to the south of Gaza, is the "Brook of Egypt" referenced in the Bible. A related phrase is nahar mizraim ("river of Egypt"), used in Genesis 15:18.