Mizraim

Mizraim (; cf. ) is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people. It is ascribed to one of the sons of the Biblical figure Ham. Linguistic analysis Mizraim is the Hebrew cognate of a common Semitic source word for the land now known as Egypt. It is similar to Miṣr in modern Arabic, Misri in the 14th century B.C. Akkadian Amarna tablets, Mṣrm in Ugaritic, Mizraim in Neo-Babylonian texts, and Mu-ṣur in neo-Assyrian Akkadian (as seen on the Rassam cylinder). To this root is appended the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. This word is similar in pronunciation and spelling to the Hebrew words matsór and meitsár, meaning literally "siege" and "strait, distress" respectively, and may carry those connotations to Hebrew speakers. 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 pharaohs at Thebes, who later founded the Middle Kingdom. Biblical accounts According to Genesis 10, Mizraim son of Ham was the younger brother of Cush and elder brother of Phut whose families together made up the Hamite branch of Noah's descendants. Mizraim's sons were Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim.19th century scholar Henry Welsford identifies this Mizraim of Egypt in the Book of Genesis as Minos. In the Book of Exodus, it is considered the house of bondage. Regarding the passover, Moses says to the children of Israel, "Remember this day, in which ye came out from Mizraim, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place; there shall no leavened bread be eaten."