The Land God Promised to Abraham and His Descendants
"On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.'" Genesis 15:18-21
"And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you." Exodus 23:31
"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom... For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast; this shall be your western border... This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor... And you shall draw a line from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath... This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.'" Numbers 34:1-12 (excerpts)
"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea." Deuteronomy 11:24
"From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory." Joshua 1:4
"And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." Genesis 17:8
"Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them." Deuteronomy 1:7-8
"Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life." 1 Kings 4:21 (Historical Fulfillment)
The boundaries are consistently described across Scripture: The Mediterranean Sea ("Great Sea") on the west (Numbers 34:6, Joshua 1:4), the Euphrates River on the north/northeast (Genesis 15:18, Deuteronomy 11:24), the wilderness and Red Sea region to the south (Exodus 23:31), and the River of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) as the southwestern boundary (Genesis 15:18).
Scripture uses several expressions for Israel's territory: "From Dan to Beersheba" describes the core settled area (Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20). "From the River of Egypt to the Euphrates" describes the full covenantal promise (Genesis 15:18). "From the wilderness to Lebanon" and "from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines" describe the north-south extent (Deuteronomy 11:24, Exodus 23:31). King Solomon's reign came closest to these maximum boundaries (1 Kings 4:21).
Genesis 15:19-21 lists ten nations inhabiting the Promised Land:
God confirmed this promise to Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and grandson Jacob/Israel (Genesis 28:13). The promise was unconditional, based on God's oath, and described as an "everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8). This covenant forms the foundation for Israel's connection to the land throughout Scripture.
The boundaries promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21 encompass territory that today includes parts of seven modern nations: Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt (Sinai), and Saudi Arabia. The green dashed lines show approximate modern political boundaries overlaid on the ancient promised territory.