Pathros

Biblical References

Pathros appears five times in the Old Testament of the New Korean Revised Version.

• Isaiah 11:11: When the Lord brings back the remnant of His scattered people, Pathros is named with Assyria, Egypt, Cush, Elam, and other lands as one of the places where His people have been scattered.
• Jeremiah 44:1, 44:15: After Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian invasion, the people of Judah who went down to Egypt are recorded as living at Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Noph, and "in the country of Pathros." From Jeremiah 44:15 onward, the people dwelling in Pathros reject the warning of Jeremiah and reply that they will continue to burn incense to "the queen of heaven" (Jeremiah 44:15–19).
• Ezekiel 29:14: God foretells that He will gather the scattered Egyptians and cause them "to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation," where they will be "a base kingdom."
• Ezekiel 30:14: Among the prophecies of judgment against Egypt, Pathros is named together with Zoan and No as a place that will be made desolate.

The "Pathrusim," listed in Genesis 10:14 and 1 Chronicles 1:12 among the descendants of Mizraim (Egypt), are understood to be the people of the region of Pathros.

Background

The name Pathros is generally held to derive from an Egyptian expression meaning "the southern land." Because the Nile flows from south to north, the southern region along the river's upper course is called "Upper Egypt," and the delta region along its lower course is called "Lower Egypt." Pathros corresponds to Upper Egypt and is generally identified with the Nile Valley extending from south of present-day Cairo to the vicinity of Aswan. Scholars differ, however, on exactly where its boundaries lay.

With regard to the Judahite community in Egypt depicted in Jeremiah 44, papyrus documents discovered on the island of Elephantine, at the southern end of Upper Egypt, show that a Jewish military community existed there at a later date, in the fifth century BC. These documents are frequently cited as evidence that Jews had settled in southern Egypt at that time. There is no basis, however, for asserting a direct connection between this community and the people of Jeremiah 44.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Pathros appears in Scripture in two distinct ways. On the one hand, it is the place where people of Judah lived who rejected God's warning and returned to idolatry (Jeremiah 44). On the other hand, it marks the outer edge of the area from which God regathers His scattered people (Isaiah 11:11).

The New Testament does not mention Pathros directly. However, the "root of Jesse" in Isaiah 11 (Isaiah 11:10) is quoted in Romans 15:12, where it is connected with the nations placing their hope in the Messiah.

Interpretations and Issues

• The "regathering" of Isaiah 11:11: Interpreters who follow dispensationalism tend to read this verse as a prophecy of a future, literal return of the people of Israel from the lands of their dispersion. Interpreters in the covenant theology and Reformed traditions often hold that it was partially fulfilled in the return from the Babylonian exile and is ultimately fulfilled in the gathering of Jews and Gentiles into one people in Christ.
• The "land of their habitation" in Ezekiel 29:14: Some interpreters see the description of Pathros as the Egyptians' native land as reflecting the understanding that ancient Egypt originated in the south and was unified from there.
• "The queen of heaven": The text of Jeremiah 44 does not specify which deity the inhabitants of Pathros worshiped as "the queen of heaven." Various views exist, including the identification of her with a Mesopotamian goddess of the Ishtar type.