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Exodus 23:31

in Exodus 23

And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand: and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

KJV

And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

This verse in Exodus 23

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
In Exo 23:23, the limits of the Land of Canaan, strictly so called, are indicated; to this, when the Israelites were about to take possession of it, were added the regions of Gilead and Bashan on the left side of the Jordan Num 32:33-42; Jos 13:29-32. These two portions made up the holy land, of which the limits were recognized, with inconsiderable variations, until the final overthrow of the Jewish polity. But in this verse the utmost extent of Hebrew dominion, as it existed in the time of David and Solomon, is set forth.

This site's exposition

And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea

The borders run from the Red sea to the sea of the Philistines and from the desert to the river, which matches the grant made to Abram at Genesis 15:18, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. 1 Kings 4:21 reports Solomon reigning over all the kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, which is the nearest those bounds ever came to being held. The verse puts the delivering on God and the driving out on the people, in that order.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

) in its utmost extent, which yet they were not possessed of till the days of David; and by their sins they soon lost possession. The precept annexed to this promise is that they should not make any friendship, nor have any familiarity, with idolaters,

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And I will set thy bounds,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea - On the south-east, even unto the sea of the Philistines - the Mediterranean, on the north-west; and from the desert - of Arabia, or the wilderness of Shur, on the west, to the river - the Euphrates, on the north-east. Or in general terms, from the Euphrates on the east, to the Mediterranean Sea on the west; and from Mount Libanus on the north, to the Red Sea and the Nile on the south. This promise was not completely fulfilled till the days of David and Solomon. The general disobedience of the people before this time prevented a more speedy accomplishment; and their disobedience afterwards caused them to lose the possession. So, though all the promises of God are Yea and Amen, yet they are fulfilled but to a few, because men are slow of heart to believe; and the blessings of providence and grace are taken away from several because of their unfaithfulness.

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְשַׁתִּ֣יand I will fix

    veshatiH789683 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • גְּבֻלְךָ֗border your

    gevulkhaH1366240 times

  • מִיַּם־from [the] sea of

    miyam-H3220396 times

  • סוּף֙reed[s]

    sufH548828 times

  • וְעַד־and to

    vead-H57041261 times

  • יָ֣ם[the] sea of

    yamH3220396 times

  • פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines

    pelishtimH6430

  • וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖רand from [the] wilderness

    umimidbarH4057270 times

  • עַד־to

    ʾad-H57041261 times

  • הַנָּהָ֑רthe River

    hanaharH5104119 times

  • כִּ֣י׀for

    kiH35884482 times

  • אֶתֵּ֣ןI will give

    ʾetenH54142011 times

  • בְּיֶדְכֶ֗םin hand your

    beyedkhemH30271618 times

  • אֵ֚ת<obj.>

    ʾetH85310935 times

  • יֹשְׁבֵ֣י[the] inhabitants of

    yosheveiH34271079 times

  • הָאָ֔רֶץthe land

    haaretzH7762504 times

  • וְגֵרַשְׁתָּ֖מוֹand you will drive out them

    vegerashtamovH164446 times

  • מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃from before you

    mipaneikhaH64402123 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Genesis 15:18

    On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 11:24

      Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Joshua 1:3–4

      I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses.

    • Genesis 12:7

      Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

    • Genesis 24:7

      The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this…

    • Genesis 13:15

      for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 11:24

    Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 15:18–21

      On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Joshua 14:9

      On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD…

  • Through

    Joshua 21:44

    And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their…

    it leads to

    • Joshua 11:23

      So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.