Nile River

Biblical References

The Nile is the river of Egypt. It appears mainly in the latter part of Genesis and the opening chapters of Exodus.

• Pharaoh's dream: In a dream, Pharaoh stood by the Nile and saw seven fat cows and seven lean cows come up out of the river. Joseph interpreted the dream as seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine (Genesis 41:1-32).
• The birth of Moses: Pharaoh ordered that every Hebrew boy be thrown into the Nile (Exodus 1:22). The mother of Moses placed the infant in an ark of bulrushes and set it among the reeds at the river's edge, and Pharaoh's daughter drew the child out and raised him (Exodus 2:1-10).
• The plagues: When Aaron struck the river with his rod, the water turned to blood and the fish died (Exodus 7:14-25). The frogs of the second plague also came up from this river (Exodus 8:3). These events mark the beginning of the ten plagues.
• The Prophets: Isaiah 19:5-8 describes a judgment in which the Nile dries up and fishermen and farmers lament. Ezekiel 29:3 portrays Pharaoh as a great crocodile (KJV "the great dragon") lying in the midst of his rivers and rebukes his pride in saying, "My river is mine own." Amos 8:8 and 9:5 compare judgment to the land rising and sinking like the river of Egypt.

Background

The Nile is formed where the White Nile and the Blue Nile join in Sudan, and from there it flows northward. In its lower course the river divides into several branches, forming a delta (a plain built up from sediment deposited at a river's mouth) before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Because Egypt receives almost no rainfall, its agriculture depended on the water and silt carried by the river's annual flood. The level of the river therefore determined whether a year brought abundance or famine. The Egyptians are known to have worshiped Hapi, a deification of the inundation.

The Hebrew word used for this river in the Old Testament, ye'or, is thought to be a loanword from an Egyptian term meaning "river." Deuteronomy 11:10-11 contrasts the land of Egypt, which had to be watered by foot, with the land of Canaan, which "drinketh water of the rain of heaven." This passage is commonly read as alluding to the irrigation agriculture that depended on the Nile.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Nile is portrayed both as Egypt's lifeline and as a symbol of Pharaoh's power. Moses was rescued from the very river in which Hebrew children were being put to death, and that same river was struck in the first plague. Exodus 12:12 states that God would execute judgment "against all the gods of Egypt." In light of this verse, many interpret the plagues that followed as judgments against the things on which Egypt relied.

The New Testament does not mention the Nile by name. However, Stephen recounts how Moses was cast out and then raised by Pharaoh's daughter (Acts 7:19-22), and Hebrews 11:23 speaks of the faith of the parents who hid Moses. The scene in Revelation 16:4, in which the rivers and fountains of waters become blood, recalls the first plague.

Interpretive Issues

• The plague in which the water turned to blood has traditionally been read as a literal miracle. Others, however, explain it in connection with natural phenomena such as red soil or algae (microorganisms in the water).
• Views differ as to whether "the river of Egypt" in Genesis 15:18 refers to the Nile or to a wadi (a dry streambed) in northern Sinai. Scholars also disagree on whether Shihor, which appears in Jeremiah 2:18 and elsewhere, should be identified with the Nile or with one of its branches.
• Exodus 2 does not give the names of Moses' sister or of Pharaoh's daughter. Identifying the sister as Miriam is an interpretation based on harmonization with other passages such as Numbers 26:59. The name of Pharaoh's daughter and the identity of the reigning Pharaoh belong to later tradition and scholarly theory.

In the Korean Church

The Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul) generally rendered this river as hasu (河水, "river"), while the New Korean Revised Version changed the rendering to "Nile River." The story of the infant Moses in the ark of bulrushes is widely taught in Sunday school.