Abel-mizraim
Abel-mizraim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as near the mouth of the Jordan River. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Abel-mizraim appears in Genesis 50:11 as a place of profound national mourning — the location where the great funeral cortege carrying Jacob's embalmed body paused for seven days of lamentation on its way from Egypt to the cave of Machpelah in Canaan. The name itself encodes the event's meaning: the Canaanite inhabitants who witnessed the procession called the site Abel-mizraim, meaning 'mourning of Egypt' (or 'meadow of Egypt'), because the Egyptians — who accompanied Joseph and his brothers in great honor — wept so intensely there. This was no ordinary burial; Jacob was transported with an escort of Egyptian dignitaries, chariots, horsemen, and a 'very large company,' a state funeral befitting the father of the man who had preserved Egypt from famine (Genesis 50:7–9). Abel-mizraim is described as being 'beyond the Jordan,' placing it in the Transjordanian region near the Jordan River crossing. The episode underscores Jacob's exceptional status — the patriarch who had wrestled with God, received the name Israel, and fathered the twelve tribes — and foreshadows the eventual return of all his descendants to the land God had promised Abraham. It is one of Scripture's earliest testimonies to the hope of inheritance in Canaan.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Abel-mizraim's precise location has never been firmly established archaeologically. The biblical text places it 'beyond the Jordan at the threshing floor of Atad' (Genesis 50:10–11), suggesting a site in the Transjordanian region east of the river or in the southern Jordan Valley. Traditional identifications place it near the lower Jordan Valley, possibly near the Jericho plain or just east of the ford over the Jordan. Some scholars associate it with Beth-hoglah near Jericho. Given its description as a threshing floor location, the site likely occupied flat, elevated terrain suitable for grain processing. No definitive archaeological confirmation of the site has been established, and the location remains speculative based on the geographic constraints of the narrative.
Verse Appearances (1)
Gen
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →