What is the 'river of Egypt' in Genesis 15:18?
In Genesis 15:18 the river of Egypt is not to be identified as the Nile. According to the transcript, at that time there was another river a little east of the Nile, in that same neck of the woods. It marked one boundary of the land promised to Abraham’s seed, extending to the Euphrates.
Les explains that he would not take advantage of the phrase and call it the Nile, because at this time there was another river a little east of the Nile, down in that neck of the woods. The promise in Genesis 15:18 runs from the river of Egypt all the way to the great river Euphrates, through present-day Iraq down to the Persian Gulf. That whole area will be Israel’s homeland when the Kingdom is set up; David and Solomon got part of it, but not near all of it. The coming day will see Israel’s land cover the whole Middle East, including the area to the south, across to the tip of the Red Sea, and over to this river of Egypt.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: