---
title: מִצְרַיִם — Egypt · The Tanakh dictionary
description: מִצְרַיִם (4714), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 681 times: Egypt. BDB 1906: n.pr.terr. et gent.f. mpl. Egypt, Egyptians. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# מִצְרַיִם

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«מִצְרַיִם» in the Tanakh dictionary: **Egypt** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 681 times · **Key:** 4714 · **BDB:** מִצְרַ֫יִם

### Glosses

of.Egypt (364); Egypt (282); to (26)

### Meaning (OSHB)

Egypt [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4714/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.pr.terr. et gent.f. mpl. Egypt, Egyptians [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4714/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.pr.terr. et gent.f. Ex 10:7, m. Ex 12:33, mpl. Gn 41:55 etc. (v. infr. 2), Egypt, Egyptians (Ph. מצרם; Assyrian Mŭṣŭr, Muṣru, Miṣir, DlPar 308 SchrCOT Gloss. KGF 246 ff., TelAm. Miṣrî, Wkl TA 39 BezBM 152, and Mas̆rî Wkl l.c.; Arabic مَصْر Cairo, Egypt (Spiro); Min. Miṣru HomA. and A. (1892), 125; v. also EbÄgM 71 ff.; 𝔊 Αἴγυπτος;—deriv. and form dub.; יִם—ַusually regarded as dual term. (Upper and Lower Egypt? cf. Di Gn 10:6), but as loc. ending EMey Gesch. i. § 42 BaNB p. 319 R. 5; JenZA iv (1889), 268 ff. thinks מִצְרַיִם abs. formed by anal. of מַיִם, שָׁמַיִם from Miṣrî (cf. TelAm.); v. further Wkl infra, ad fin.);—מ׳ Gn 13:1 +; מִצְרָ֑יִם 37:36 +; מִצְרַ֫יְמָה 12:10 + 12 times, מִצְרָ֑יְמָה 12:11 + 4 times;— of land, Egypt, Gn 13:1 + 500 times, +, in all periods, incl. אֶרֶץ מ׳ 13:10 + c. 220 times (of course f., 47:6, 13); אַדְמַת מ׳ the soil of Egypt †47:20, 26; מֵימֵי מ׳ †Ex 7:19; 8:2; נְהַר מ׳ †Gn 15:18; יְאֹר מ׳ †Am 8:8; 9:5; יְאֹרֵי מ׳ †Is 7:18 (cf. מָצוֹר); שִׁיחוֹר מ׳ †1 Ch 13:5; לְשׁוֹן יָם־מ׳ †Is 11:15; נַחַל מ׳ Jos 15:4 + 6 times (v. these various wds.); land as productive Gn 45:20; 49:23, cf. שֵׁשׁ בְּרִקְמָה מִמּ׳ Ez 27:7, אֵטוּן מ׳ Pr 7:16; often ‖ כּוּשׁ, especially in proph. and poet. Is 20:3, 4, 5; 45:14 Ez 30:4, 9 +; ‖ אַשּׁוּר Ho 11:11; 12:1 Is 7:18 Je 2:18 +; incl. Upper Egypt (פַּתְרוֹס), as well as Lower, Je 44:1, cf. Ez 29:10; 30:6 appar. disting. from Upper Egypt Is 11:11, and poss. also Je 44:15 (cf. Gf Gie Buhl SS CheHpt. Isaiah); but פתרוס etc. in these vv somewhat dub. (cf. Du Gie). combinations are: (1) מ׳ as limit of motion: יָרַד מצרים(ה) Gn 43:15 Jos 24:4 + c. 12 times; בּוֹא מ׳ 1 S 12:8 + c. 26 times, בוא בְמ׳ †Is 19:23, בוא לְמ׳ †Je 44:28; שׁוּב מ׳ Ho 8:3 + 9 times, שׁוּב אֶל־מ׳ †Ho 11:5, שׁוּב לְאַרְצוֹ מ׳ †Je 37:7; בָּרַח מ׳ †1 K 11:40; שָׁלַח מ׳ †Je 26:22, so (+ אֶל־) v 22. In Je 42:16 b read בְּמ׳ with Gie. (2) מ׳ as point of departure (הֶעֱלָה) עָלָה מִן־(ארץ) מ׳ Gn 13:1 + c. 43 times; יָצָא (הוֹצִיא) מִן־(ארץ) מ׳ Ex 12:39 + c. 96 times; פָּדָה מִמּ׳ †2 S 7:23 (but del. GeiUrschr. 288 We Dr Kit Bu)=1 Ch 17:21; בּוֹא מִמּ׳ †2 Ch 12:3; 20:10; שׁוּב מִמּ׳ †Je 44:28 2 Ch 10:2; אָתָה מִמּ׳ †ψ 68:32; קָרָא מִמּ׳ †Ho 11:1. of people: in table of nations, personif. as second son of Ham †Gn 10:6=1 Ch 1:8, cf. Gn 10:13=1 Ch 1:11. =Egypt (as a people), Egyptians Gn 41:56 + c. 134 times, incl. use=Egyptian kingdom, empire, i. e. land and people as political power; so c. vb. fs. אָֽבְדָה מ׳ Ex 10:7, cf. Ho 9:6 Jo 4:19 and (pron. fs.) Ez 30:18; c. vb. ms. Ex 12:33; 14:25 Is 19:16, 23, 25 Je 46:8; often c. vb. mpl. Gn 41:55 Is 19:21, 23 + 22 times; בְּנֵי מ׳ Ez 16:26; בְּתוּלַת בַּת מ׳ †Je 46:11, cf. v 19, 24.—In 1 K 10:28=2 Ch 1:16, 17, 2 K 7:6 WklAlttest. Unters. 171 f. thinks of Assyrian Muṣri in N. Syria. (On מִצְרַיִם as often=Muṣri in N. Arabia v. Wkl Altor. Unters. i. 24 ff., ii. 195, iii. 289, iv. 337 f.; MVG 1898, 1. 4).

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 76 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (1 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (1 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «מִצְרַיִם» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4714/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Proverbs 7:16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.7.16/)

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מַ֭רְבַדִּים רָבַ֣דְתִּי עַרְשִׂ֑י חֲ֝טֻב֗וֹת אֵט֥וּן מִצְרָֽיִם׃

*Word for word:* coverings I.have.spread couch my colored.fabrics linen of.Egypt

*JPS 1917:* I have decked my couch with coverlets, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

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[Lamentations 5:6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/LAM.5.6/)

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מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ נָתַ֣נּוּ יָ֔ד אַשּׁ֖וּר לִשְׂבֹּ֥עַֽ לָֽחֶם׃

*Word for word:* Egypt we.have.given a.hand Assyria to be.satisfied bread

*JPS 1917:* We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to have bread enough;

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