Bible Strands
Exodus 23:31
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to Israel through Moses at the conclusion of the covenant stipulations, defining the territorial scope of the land He is promising to give them.
The words — שַׁתִּי (sha.Ti) translates literally as "I will fix" or "I will establish," paired with גְּבֻלְךָ (ge.vul.Kha, "your border") to denote a permanent, divinely set boundary.
The thread — This geographic boundary echoes the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 15:18, expands in Deuteronomy 11:24 with its wilderness-to-Lebanon scope, and finds its fulfillment in Joshua 21:44 when the promised rest is realized.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that territorial possession depends entirely on divine displacement of inhabitants, requiring absolute separation from their gods and political alliances.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 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—
- 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.
- 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 hand.
- Numbers 34:3 Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
- Joshua 1:4 Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea.
- Joshua 24:18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because He is our God!”
- 1 Kings 4:24 For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.
- Judges 1:4 When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
- Judges 11:21 Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country,
- 1 Kings 4:21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.