Egypt
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Mizraim) (Exod. 1:1) — one of the most ancient and remarkable countries on the face of the earth. Egypt is bounded on the south by Ethiopia, on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea, and on the west by the sandy heights of the Sahara and the Libyan desert. Concerning its northern and southern borders, information is given in the book of the prophet Ezekiel (29:10; 30:6). The country presents itself to the traveler as an immense plain, stretching nearly 600 English miles in length and bounded on the east and west by a range of hills and by extensive desert.
The river basin of the country owes its existence, fertility, and beauty to the great historic river Nile, which flows through it (see Nile); for this reason Egypt was called in antiquity “the gift of the Nile.” As for the origin of the country’s name, opinions on this differ. In the Old Testament the word “Egypt” is rendered by the Hebrew word “Mizraim,” the name of one of the sons of Ham (Gen. 10:6), who may have been the forefather