Nile River
Egypt's lifeline river: the cows of Pharaoh's dream rose from it, baby Moses was rescued here, and its waters turned to blood in the first plague.
First mentioned in the Bible
At the end of two full years, Pharʹaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River. And there, coming up from the river, were seven fine-looking, fat cows, and they were feeding on the Nile grass. There were seven other cows that looked ugly and thin coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood alongside the fat cows by the bank of the Nile.— Genesis 41:1-3
Background
The Nile runs some 6,650 km through eleven countries and fans into a fertile delta north of Cairo. With almost no rainfall, Egypt's agriculture depended entirely on its annual flood—hence Herodotus' phrase, “Egypt is the gift of the Nile.” Pharaoh dreamed of seven fat cows and seven gaunt cows rising from the river; Joseph read seven years of plenty and seven of famine (Ge 41:1-3). Decades later Pharaoh ordered Hebrew baby boys thrown into the Nile, yet Moses was saved in a papyrus basket and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter (Ex 1:22; 2:3-10). In 1513 B.C.E. the first plague turned its waters to blood (Ex 7:14-25)—a blow at Egypt's very lifeline, for the river was revered as divine. Prophets likewise used its flood and its drying up as symbols of judgment on Egypt (Isa 19:5-10; Eze 29:3-10; Jer 46:7,8).
Related Scriptures (New World Translation)
At the end of two full years, Pharʹaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River. And there, coming up from the river, were seven fine-looking, fat cows, and they were feeding on the Nile grass. There were seven other cows that looked ugly and thin coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood alongside the fat cows by the bank of the Nile.— Genesis 41:1-3
When she was no longer able to conceal him, she took a papyrus basket and coated it with bitumen and pitch and put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile River. But his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. When Pharʹaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the Nile, her female attendants were walking by the side of the Nile. And she caught sight of the basket in the middle of the reeds. She immediately sent her slave girl to get it.— Exodus 2:3-5
Immediately Moses and Aaron did just as Jehovah had commanded. He lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile River before the eyes of Pharʹaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the river was turned into blood. And the fish that were in the river died, and the river began to stink, and the Egyptians were unable to drink water from the Nile, and there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.— Exodus 7:20-21Explore Nile River on the interactive map →
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