"From the Nile to the Euphrates": On the Question of Israel’s Biblical Borders
One of the debated issues when discussing Israel’s borders from a legal perspective (in our view, sacred texts should also be considered in international law) is the well-known phrase "from the Nile to the Euphrates," understood as the Tanakhic (biblical) definition of Israel’s borders.
Accordingly, on one hand, some Israelis believe that Israel’s borders should be expanded to the "Torah-defined" boundaries from the Nile to the Euphrates. On the other hand, Israel’s opponents accuse it of striving to seize the corresponding territories.
However, this interpretation does not align with the biblical text. This passage is truly remarkable, considering the time it was written. That is, it was written thousands of years ago, and today it has come to pass as foretold.
No, Israel's borders do not extend from the Nile to the Euphrates, nor should they. In reality, this is not about the borders of Israel.
It was written as follows (Bereshit/Genesis 15:18):
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, כָּרַת יְהוָה אֶת-אַבְרָם--בְּרִית לֵאמֹר: לְזַרְעֲךָ, נָתַתִּי אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, מִנְּהַר מִצְרַיִם, עַד-הַנָּהָר הַגָּדֹל נְהַר-פְּרָת.
(On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I give these lands, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates")
In the King James translation:
In that 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.'
The descendants of Abraham are not only the Jews but also the Arabs.
Thus, indeed, in the present time, as foretold, the lands from the Nile to the Euphrates are owned by the descendants of Abraham.
The boundaries of the land that the descendants of Israel were to possess are described in Numbers 34:1-12:
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:'Command the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land of Canaan, this shall be the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to the borders thereof. Thus your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin close by the side of Edom, and your south border shall begin at the end of the Salt Sea eastward; and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out thereof shall be southward of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall go forth to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon; and the border shall turn about from Azmon unto the Brook of Egypt, and the goings out thereof shall be at the Sea. And for the western border, ye shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your west border. And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea ye shall mark out your line unto mount Hor; from mount Hor ye shall mark out a line unto the entrance to Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad; and the border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out thereof shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall be your north border. And ye shall mark out your line for the east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham; and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall strike upon the slope of the sea of Chinnereth eastward; and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the goings out thereof shall be at the Salt Sea; this shall be your land according to the borders thereof round about.
Which roughly corresponds to the current borders of Israel: on the western side is the Mediterranean Sea ("the Great Sea"), on the eastern side is the Jordan, the Sea of Galilee (Chinnereth) and the Dead (Salt) Sea, on the south are the deserts of the Sinai or Arabian Peninsula ("the desert of Sin"), and on the north is the southern part of present-day Syria.
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See also:
Where Are Israel's Borders and What Is Israel Actually Occupying