Lexical Definition

‎מִצְרַיִם‎ Mitsrayim (mits-rah'-yim) Egypt ^N:N--L
dual of ‎מָצוֹר‎

Egypt, Egyptians, Mizraim.

• § Egyptians = "double straits"
• Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt

n pr loc
1) a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows
adj
2) the inhabitants or natives of Egypt

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎מִצְרַ֫יִם‎₆₈₁ proper name, of a territory and people, feminine^{Exod 10:7}, masculine^{Exod 12:33}, masculine plural^{Gen 41:55} etc. (see below

2.), Egypt, Egyptians (Phoenician ‎מצרם‎; Assyrian Mªƒªr(u), Muƒru, Miƒir, Dl^{Par 308} Schr^{COT Glossary KGF 246 ff.}, Tel Amarna Miƒrî, Wkl^{TA 39 *} Bez^{BM 152, and} Mašrî Wkl^l.c.; Arabic Cairo, Egypt (Spiro): Minean Miƒru Hom^{A and A. (1892), 125}; see Eb^{ÄgM 71 ff.}; ᵐ5 Αιγυπτος; — derivatives and form dubious; ‎יִַ֯ם‎ usually regarded as dual term. (Upper and Lower Egypt? compare Di^{Gen 10:6}), but as locative ending EMey^{Geschichte. I, § 42} Ba^{NB p. 319 R. 5}; Jen^{ZA iv (1889), 268 ff.} thinks ‎מִצְרַיִם‎ absolute formed by analogy of ‎מַיִם‎, ‎שָׁמַיִם‎ from Miƒrî (compare Tel Amarna); see further Wkl^{infra, near the end}); — ‎׳‎‎מ‎ Gen 13:1 +; ‎מִצְרָ֑יִם‎ Gen 37:36 +; ‎מִצְרַיְמָה‎ Gen 12:10 + 12 t., ‎מִצְרָ֑יְמָה‎ Gen 12:11 + 14 t.; —

1. a. of land, Egypt Gen 13:1 + 500 t., +, in all periods, including ‎׳‎‎אֶרֶץ מ‎ Gen 13:10 + approximately 220 t. (of course feminine, Gen 47:6; Gen 47:13); ‎׳‎‎אַדְמַת מ‎ the soil of Egypt Gen 47:20; Gen 47:26 ‎׳‎‎מֵימֵי מ‎ Exod 7:19; Exod 8:2* ‎׳‎‎נְהַר מ‎ Gen 15:18 ‎׳‎‎יְאֹר מ‎ Amos 8:8; Amos 9:5 ‎׳‎‎יְאֹרֵי מ‎ Isa 7:18 (compare ‎מָצוֺר‎); ‎׳‎‎שִׁיחוֺר מ‎ 1Chr 13:5 ‎לְשׁוֺן‎ ‎׳‎‎יָםמֿ‎ Isa 11:15 ‎׳‎‎נַחַל מ‎ Josh 15:4 + 6 t. (see these various words); land as productive Gen 45:20; Gen 49:23, compare ‎׳‎‎שֵׁשׁ בְּרִקְמָה מִמּ‎ Ezek 27:7, ‎׳‎‎אֵטוּן מ‎ Prov 7:16 often || ‎בּוּשׁ‎, especially in prophets and poetry Isa 20:3; Isa 20:4; Isa 20:5; Isa 45:14; Ezek 30:4; Ezek 30:9 +; || ‎אַשּׁוּר‎ Hos 11:11; Hos 12:1*; Isa 7:18; Jer 2:18 +; including Upper Egypt (‎פַּתְרוֺם‎), as well as Lower, Jer 44:1, compare Ezek 29:10; Ezek 30:6 apparently distinguished from Upper Egypt Isa 11:11, and possibly also Jer 44:15 (compare Gf Gie Buhl SS Che^{Hpt Isaiah}); but ‎פתרוס‎ etc. in these verses somewhat dubious (compare B. Du Gie).
b. combinations are: (1)‎׳‎‎מ‎ as limit of motion: ‎יָדַד מצרימ(הׅ‎ Gen 43:15; Josh 24:4 + approximately 12 t.; ‎׳‎‎בּוֺא מ‎ 1Sam 12:8 + approximately 26 t., ‎׳‎‎בוא בְמ‎ Isa 19:23, ‎׳‎‎בוא לְמ‎ Jer 44:28 ‎׳‎‎שׁוּב מ‎ Hos 8:3 + 9 t., ‎׳‎‎שׁוּב אֶלמֿ‎ Hos 11:5, ‎שׁוּב‎ ‎׳‎‎לְאַרְצוֺ מ‎ Jer 37:7 ‎׳‎‎בָּרַח מ‎ 1Kgs 11:40 ‎׳‎‎שָׁלַח מ‎ Jer 26:22, so ( + ‎אֶלֿ‎) vJer 26:22. In Jer 42:16b read ‎׳‎‎בְּמ‎ with Gie. (2) ‎׳‎‎מ‎ as point of departure (‎הֶעֱלָה‎) ‎׳‎‎עָלָה מִןֿ(ארץ) מ‎ Gen 13:1 + approximately 43 t.; ‎יָצָא‎ (‎הוֺצִיא‎) ‎׳‎‎מִןֿ(ארץ) מ‎ Exod 12:39 + approximately 96 t.; ‎׳‎‎פָּדָה מִמּ‎ 2Sam 7:23 (but strike out Gei^{Urschr. 288} We Dr Kit Bu) = 1Chr 17:21 ‎׳‎‎בּוֺא מִמּ‎ 2Chr 12:3; 2Chr 20:10 ‎׳‎‎שׁוּב מִמּ‎ Jer 44:28; 2Chr 10:2 ‎׳‎‎אָתָה מִמּ‎ Ps 68:32* ‎׳‎‎קָרָא מִמּ‎ Hos 11:1. 2. of people: a. in table of nations, personified as second son of Ham Gen 10:6 = 1Chr 1:8, compare Gen 10:13 = 1Chr 1:11.
b. = Egypt (as a people), Egyptians Gen 41:56 + approximately 134 t., including use = Egyptian Kingdom, empire, i.e. land and people as political power; so with verb feminine singular ‎׳‎‎אָֽבְדָה מ‎ Exod 10:7, compare Hos 9:6; Joel 4:19* and (pronoun feminine singular) Ezek 30:18 with verb masculine singular Exod 12:33; Exod 14:25; Isa 19:16; Isa 19:23; Isa 19:25; Jer 46:8 often with verb masculine plural Gen 41:55; Isa 19:21; Isa 19:23 + 22 t.; ‎׳‎‎בִּנֵי מ‎ Ezek 16:26 ‎׳‎‎בְּתוּלַת בַּת מ‎ Jer 46:11, compare vJer 46:19 vJer 46:24. — In 1Kgs 10:28 = 2Chr 1:16; 2Chr 1:17; 2Kgs 7:6 Wkl^{Alttest. Unters. 171 f.} thinks of Assyrian Muƒri in North Syria. (On ‎מִצְרַיִם‎ as often = Muƒri in North Arabia see Wkl^{Altor. Unters. i. 24 ff., ii. 195, iii. 289; iv. 337 f; MVG 1898, 1.4}).

Brown-Driver-Briggs References