Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 46:7-8

"Who is this that riseth up like the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers? Egypt riseth up like the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers: and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities and the inhabitants thereof." — Jeremiah 46:7-8 (ASV)

Who is this that cometh up as a flood? ... — The Hebrew word for “flood” is used as a proper name almost exclusively (Daniel 12:5–6 being the only exception) for the Nile (for example, Genesis 41:1–3; Exodus 2:3; Exodus 4:9; Amos 8:8; Amos 9:5), and therefore the very form of the question points to the answer that follows.

The prophet goes back, as an English poet might have done after the destruction of the Spanish Armada, to the time when all the strength of Egypt had been poured forth in the exultation of anticipated victory, as the great river of Egypt poured its waters.

The word for “rivers,” though more general, has a similar allusive reference, being used in Exodus 7:19; Exodus 8:5 and Ezekiel 32:2; Ezekiel 32:14 for the arms or canals of the Nile.