Numbers 34:5

The Brook of Egypt is not the Nile River. It refers to a wadi (a dry riverbed that fills with water during the rainy season). This wadi marked the border between Canaan and Egypt and flowed toward the Mediterranean Sea (see 1 Kings 8:65). I

In Old Testament times, Israel had little control over this southern coastal area.

Portions of the southern boundary of Canaan were familiar to Israel from earlier experiences in the Wilderness of Zin, located on the northwestern border of Edom (see chapters 13–14). This southern border curved from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, running east to west.

Chapter 34 describes the borders of Canaan. This is where God commanded Israel to settle, following the guidelines in 26:52–56. Since Abraham's call, the promised land of Canaan has been central to the Old Testament story (Genesis 12:1–7). A generation of Hebrews died in the wilderness for not believing what the faithful spies reported (Numbers 13). Yet, God reaffirmed his promise of land (33:53).

Here, God reviews the plan and outlines the promised land's intended boundaries (compare Joshua 13–19; Ezekiel 47–48). Old Testament Israel did not fully capture this territory. It almost did during the time of the kings David and Solomon (see 2 Samuel 24:1–9). But these borders generally describe the region of Canaan as defined by Egyptian texts from 1500–1200 BC. This was when the Hebrews invaded. The region actually occupied by Israel changed from time to time.