Compare this place with Genesis 15:18 Numbers 34:3. The sea of the Philistines, i.e. the Mediterranean or midland sea, upon whose coast the land of the Philistines lay. The desert, of Egypt or Arabia; whereof see Genesis 16:7 Exodus 15:22. The river, to wit, Euphrates, as it is expressed Deuteronomy 1:7, Deuteronomy 11:24, which is oft called the river by way of eminency. All within these bounds were given them by God, but upon conditions, which they manifestly broke, and therefore were for the most part confined to a much narrower compass.
Related Commentaries of Exodus 23:31
Exodus 23:31
31 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.