Bible Dictionary
Abel-mizraim
Abel-mizraim was the name given to the threshing floor of Atad, east of the Jordan, where Joseph and the Egyptians mourned Jacob for seventy days. The name means “meadow of Egypt” and reflects the mourning held there by the Egyptian funeral party.
Definition
Abel-mizraim means “meadow of Egypt” and was the name given to the threshing floor of Atad. It lay east of the Jordan, north of the Dead Sea, where Joseph and the Egyptian funeral party mourned Jacob. The name is a wordplay connected with the mourning held there.
Biblical Usage
Abel-mizraim appears in the account of Jacob’s burial. The Canaanite inhabitants saw the mourning, or “Abel,” performed by the Egyptians and associated the place with Egypt.
Historical Background
The funeral party’s route was circuitous rather than direct from Egypt to Hebron. The supplied material notes that proposed explanations involving changes to the text or identifying another Mutsri are unsatisfactory. The exact site is connected with Atad’s threshing floor east of the Jordan.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Meadow of Egypt, or mourning of Egypt, a place “beyond,” i.e., on the west of Jordan, at the “threshing-floor of Atad.” Here the Egyptians mourned seventy days for Jacob (Gen. 50:4-11). Its site is unknown.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a'-bel-miz'-ra-im ('abhel mitsrayim, "meadow of Egypt"): A name given to "the threshing floor of Atad," East of the Jordan and North of the Dead Sea, because Joseph and his funeral party from Egypt there held their mourning over Jacob (Ge 50:11). The name is a pun. The Canaanite residents saw the 'ebhel, "the mourning," and therefore that place was called 'abhel mitsrayim.</p><p>It is remarkable that the funeral should have taken this circuitous route, instead of going directly from Egypt to Hebron. Possibly a reason may be found as we obtain additional details in Egyptian history. The explanations which consist in changing the text, or in substituting the North Arabian Mutsri for Mitsrayim, are unsatisfactory. Willis J. Beecher</p>