Bible Dictionary
Brook
A brook is a small stream or torrent, often flowing only during the rainy season in Palestine. The term may also refer to the valley or torrent-bed containing the water, and sometimes denotes a larger river such as the Nile.
Definition
A brook is a small stream or torrent, often flowing only during winter or after heavy rain. The word may also refer to the valley or torrent-bed containing the stream. In some passages it denotes a larger river, including the Nile.
Biblical Usage
Biblical references use brook for small streams such as the Arnon and Jabbok, winter torrents, torrent-beds or wadies, and the Nile in Isaiah. The Kidron is described by a term meaning “winter-flowing.”
Historical Background
Palestine has few large streams, and many waterways flow only during the rainy season. Because the land is dry, a perennial stream has unusual importance. The Hebrew word may mean either river, valley, or stream, making some passages difficult to distinguish precisely.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A torrent. (1.) Applied to small streams, as the Arnon, Jabbok, etc. Isaiah (15:7) speaks of the “book of the willows,” probably the Wady-el-Asha. (2.) It is also applied to winter torrents (Job 6:15; Num. 34:5; Josh. 15:4, 47), and to the torrent-bed or wady as well as to the torrent itself (Num. 13:23; 1 Kings 17:3). (3.) In Isa. 19:7 the river Nile is meant, as rendered in the Revised Version.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>brook (nachal, 'aphiq, ye'or, mikhal; cheimarrhos): In Palestine there are few large streams. Of the smaller ones many flow only during the winter, or after a heavy rain. The commonest Hebrew word for brook is nachal, which is also used for river and for valley, and it is not always clear whether the valley or the stream in the valley is meant (Nu 13:23; De 2:13; 2Sa 15:23). The Arabic wady, which is sometimes referred to in this connection, is not an exact parallel, for while it may be used of a dry valley or of a valley containing a stream, it means the valley and not the stream. 'Aphiq and ye'or are translated both "brook" and "river," ye'or being generally used of the Nile (Ex 1:22, etc.), though in Da 12:5-7, of the Tigris. Cheirnarrhos, "winter-flowing," is applied in Joh 18:1 to the Kidron. Many of the streams of Palestine which are commonly called rivers would in other countries be called brooks, but in such a dry country any perennial stream assumes a peculiar importance.</p><p>Alfred Ely Day</p>