Exodus 23:31 - Exposition

And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines . This passage by itself would be sufficient to confute Dr. Brugsch's notion, that the Yam Suph (or "Red Sea" of our translators) is the Lake Serbonis, which is a part of the Mediterranean or "Sea of the Philistines," and cannot stand in contrast with it. The "Sea of the Philistines" and the "Red Sea" mark the boundaries of the Holy Land East and West, as the "Desert" and the "River" (Euphrates) do its boundaries North and South. That Moses here lays down those wide limits which were only reached 400 years later, in the time of David and Solomon, and were then speedily lost, can surprise no one who believes in the prophetic gift, and regards Moses as one of the greatest of the Prophets. The tract marked out by these limits had been already promised to Abraham ( Genesis 15:18 ). Its possession by Solomon is distinctly recorded in 1 Kings 4:21 , 1 Kings 4:24 ; 2 Chronicles 9:26 . As Solomon was "a man of peace," we must ascribe the acquisition of this wide empire to David. (Compare 2 Samuel 8:3-14 ; 2 Samuel 10:6-19 .) The river ( han - nahar ) is in the Pentateuch always the Euphrates. The Nile is ha-y'or . A powerful kingdom established in Syria is almost sure to extend its influence to the Euphrates. I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand . Compare Joshua 21:44 , for the first fulfilment of this prophecy. Its complete fulfilment was reserved for the time of David. Thou shalt drive them out . The mass of the Canaanites were no doubt "driven out" rather than exterminated. They retired northwards, and gave strength to the great Hittite kingdom which was for many centuries a formidable antagomst of the Egyptian and Assyrian empties.