Mizraim
Encyclopedia
Mizraim is the Hebrew
name for the land of Egypt
, with the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt
and Lower Egypt
.
Ugaritic inscriptions refer to Egypt as Msrm, in the Amarna tablets it is called Misri, and Assyrian and Babylonian records called Egypt Musur and Musri. The Arabic word for Egypt is Misr , and Egypt's official name is Gumhuriyah Misr al-'Arabiyah (the Arab Republic of Egypt).
According to Genesis 10, Mizraim (a son of Ham) was the younger brother of Cush
and elder brother of Phut
and Canaan
, whose families together made up the Hamite
branch of Noah
's descendants. Mizraim's sons were Ludim
, Anamim
, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim
, Casluhim
(out of whom came Philistim), and Caphtorim.
According to Eusebius' Chronicon
, Manetho
had suggested that the great age of antiquity in which the later Egyptians boasted had actually preceded the flood, and that they were really descended from Mizraim, who settled there anew. A similar story is related by medieval Islamic historians such as Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
, the Egyptian Ibn Abd-el-Hakem
, and the Persians al-Tabari and Muhammad Khwandamir
, stating that the pyramids, etc. had been built by the wicked races before the deluge, but that Noah's descendant Mizraim (Masar or Mesr) was entrusted with reoccupying the region afterward. The Islamic accounts also make Masar the son of a Bansar or Beisar and grandson of Ham, rather than a direct son of Ham, and add that he lived to the age of 700. Some scholars think it likely that Mizraim is a dual form of the word Misr meaning "land", and was translated literally into Ancient Egyptian as Ta-Wy (the Two Lands) by early pharaoh
s at Thebes
, who later founded the Middle Kingdom
.
But according to George Syncellus
, the Book of Sothis
, supposedly by Manetho, had identified Mizraim with the legendary first pharaoh Menes
, said to have unified the Old Kingdom
and built Memphis. Misraim also seems to correspond to Misor
, said in Phoenician mythology to have been father of Taautus
who was given Egypt, and later scholars noticed that this also recalls Menes, whose son or successor was said to be Athothis.
In Judaism
, Mitzrayim has been connected with the word meitzar (מיצר), meaning "sea strait", possibly alluding to narrow gulfs from both sides of Sinai peninsula
. It also can mean "boundaries, limits, restrictions" or "narrow place".
However, author David Rohl
has suggested a different interpretation: "Amongst the followers of Meskiagkasher [Cush] was his younger 'brother' -- in his own right a strong and charismatic leader of men. He is the head of the falcon tribe -- the descendants of Horus the 'Far Distant'. The Bible calls this new Horus-king 'Mizraim' but this name is, in reality, no more than an epithet. It means 'follower of Asr' or 'Asar' (Arabic m-asr with the Egyptian preposition m 'from'). Mizraim is merely m-Izra with the majestic plural ending 'im'. Likewise, that other great Semitic-speaking people -- the Assyrians -- called the country of the pharaohs 'Musri' (m-Usri)."
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
name for the land of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, with the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
and Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
.
Ugaritic inscriptions refer to Egypt as Msrm, in the Amarna tablets it is called Misri, and Assyrian and Babylonian records called Egypt Musur and Musri. The Arabic word for Egypt is Misr , and Egypt's official name is Gumhuriyah Misr al-'Arabiyah (the Arab Republic of Egypt).
According to Genesis 10, Mizraim (a son of Ham) was the younger brother of Cush
Biblical Cush
Cush was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Mizraim , Canaan and the father of Nimrod, and Raamah, mentioned in the "Table of Nations" in the Genesis 10:6 and I Chronicles 1:8...
and elder brother of Phut
Phut
Phut or Put is the third son of Ham , in the biblical Table of Nations .Put is associated with Ancient Libya by many early writers...
and Canaan
Canaan (Bible)
Canaan, according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah.- Descendants of Canaan:According to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 , Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes who occupied the ancient Land of Canaan: all the territory from Sidon to...
, whose families together made up the Hamite
Ham, son of Noah
Ham , according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.- Hebrew Bible :The story of Ham is related in , King James Version:...
branch of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
's descendants. Mizraim's sons were Ludim
Ludim
Ludim is the Hebrew term for Lydia used in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In the Biblical Table of Nations Genesis 10:13 they were descended from Mizraim...
, Anamim
Anamim
Anamim is, according to the Bible, either a son of Ham's son Mizraim or the name of a people descending from him.The name should perhaps be attached to a people in northern Africa, probably in the surrounding area of Egypt. A text from Assyria, dating from the time of Sargon II, apparently calls...
, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim
Pathrusim
Pathrusim were descendants of Mizraim, according to the genealogies in Genesis. According to some scholars, this was in southern Egypt around Thebes, since Pa-to-ris means "southerners" in Ancient Egyptian....
, Casluhim
Casluhim
The Casluhim or Casluhites were an ancient Egyptian people mentioned in the Bible and related literature. According to and , they were descendants of Mizraim son of Ham, out of whom originated the Philistines....
(out of whom came Philistim), and Caphtorim.
According to Eusebius' Chronicon
Chronicon (Eusebius)
The Chronicon or Chronicle was a work in two books by Eusebius of Caesarea. It seems to have been compiled in the early 4th century. It contained a world chronicle from Abraham until the vicennalia of Constantine I in 325 AD...
, Manetho
Manetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
had suggested that the great age of antiquity in which the later Egyptians boasted had actually preceded the flood, and that they were really descended from Mizraim, who settled there anew. A similar story is related by medieval Islamic historians such as Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
Yusuf ibn Abd-Allah , famously known as Sibt ibn al-Jawzi and Abu-Muzaffar .was a famous scholar.-Confusion:He was the grandson of the great Hanbali scholar Abul-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzi who is known for his works such as A Great Collection of Fabricated Traditions and the Provision of the journey .his...
, the Egyptian Ibn Abd-el-Hakem
Ibn Abd-el-Hakem
Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam was an Egyptian chronicler who wrote the History of the Conquest of Egypt and North Africa and Spain.His work is invaluable as the earliest Arab account of the Islamic conquests of those countries. This work was written about 150-200 years after the events it describes, and...
, and the Persians al-Tabari and Muhammad Khwandamir
Muhammad Khwandamir
Ghiyāś ad-Dīn Moḥammad Khwāndamīr, Khvandamir, or Khondamir or Hondemir was a Persian Islamic scholar born in Herat, in 880 AH or 1475 CE, a grandson and successor to noted historian Mirkhond.-Biography:...
, stating that the pyramids, etc. had been built by the wicked races before the deluge, but that Noah's descendant Mizraim (Masar or Mesr) was entrusted with reoccupying the region afterward. The Islamic accounts also make Masar the son of a Bansar or Beisar and grandson of Ham, rather than a direct son of Ham, and add that he lived to the age of 700. Some scholars think it likely that Mizraim is a dual form of the word Misr meaning "land", and was translated literally into Ancient Egyptian as Ta-Wy (the Two Lands) by early pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
s at Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
, who later founded the Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
.
But according to George Syncellus
George Syncellus
George Syncellus was a Byzantine chronicler and ecclesiastic. He had lived many years in Palestine as a monk, before coming to Constantinople, where he was appointed syncellus to Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople...
, the Book of Sothis
Book of Sothis
The Book of Sothis is a document known mainly through transmission by George Syncellus, purporting to have been written by the historian Manetho. Modern scholars are nearly unanimous that the book was in fact written by someone other than Manetho, making it a forgery...
, supposedly by Manetho, had identified Mizraim with the legendary first pharaoh Menes
Menes
Menes was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the early dynastic period, credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt, and as the founder of the first dynasty ....
, said to have unified the Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...
and built Memphis. Misraim also seems to correspond to Misor
Misor
Misor was the name of a deity appearing in a theogeny provided by Roman era Phoenician writer Philo of Byblos in an account preserved by Eusebius in his Praeparatio Evangelica, and attributed to the still earlier Sanchuniathon. He was one of two children of the deities Amunos and Magos. The other...
, said in Phoenician mythology to have been father of Taautus
Taautus
Taautus of Byblos, according to the Phoenician writer Sanchuniathon, was the inventor of writing and son of Misor who was bequeathed the land of Egypt by Cronus....
who was given Egypt, and later scholars noticed that this also recalls Menes, whose son or successor was said to be Athothis.
In Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Mitzrayim has been connected with the word meitzar (מיצר), meaning "sea strait", possibly alluding to narrow gulfs from both sides of Sinai peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
. It also can mean "boundaries, limits, restrictions" or "narrow place".
However, author David Rohl
David Rohl
New Chronology is the term used to describe an alternative Chronology of the ancient Near East developed by English Egyptologist David Rohl and other researchers beginning with A Test of Time: The Bible - from Myth to History in 1995...
has suggested a different interpretation: "Amongst the followers of Meskiagkasher [Cush] was his younger 'brother' -- in his own right a strong and charismatic leader of men. He is the head of the falcon tribe -- the descendants of Horus the 'Far Distant'. The Bible calls this new Horus-king 'Mizraim' but this name is, in reality, no more than an epithet. It means 'follower of Asr' or 'Asar' (Arabic m-asr with the Egyptian preposition m 'from'). Mizraim is merely m-Izra with the majestic plural ending 'im'. Likewise, that other great Semitic-speaking people -- the Assyrians -- called the country of the pharaohs 'Musri' (m-Usri)."