Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 17, 2026

Pathros

Pathros refers to Upper Egypt, primarily the Thebaid where it extended from Elephantine fort to modern Asyut north of Thebes. Gardiner argues it extended to the north no further than Abydos. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Jeremiah 44:1 and 15; Isaiah 11:11; and Ezekiel 29:14, 30:14. It is the homeland of the "Pathrusim".

Last revised
Jun 17, 2026
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A map of the Generations of Noah, placing the "Pathrusim" in Upper Egypt. source ↗

Pathros (Hebrew: פַּתְרוֹס; Paṯrōs; Ancient Greek: Φαθωρῆς, Phathōrēs; Koine Ancient Greek: Παθούρης, Pathourēs) refers to Upper Egypt, primarily the Thebaid where it extended from Elephantine fort to modern Asyut north of Thebes.1 Gardiner argues it extended to the north no further than Abydos.2 It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Jeremiah 44:1 and 15; Isaiah 11:11; and Ezekiel 29:14, 30:14. It is the homeland of the "Pathrusim".

The name is a loan from Egyptian pꜣ tꜣ-rsj "the southern land" (e.g., pBritish Museum EA 10375, line 16; cf. Sahidic Coptic ⲡⲁⲧⲟⲩⲣⲏⲥ and Bohairic Coptic ⲡⲁⲑⲟⲩⲣⲏⲥ.34)

D1
Z1
M24
tp-rsy
in hieroglyphs

As in Hebrew and Greek, the term was used in Akkadian by the Assyrians as Paturisi⁠, for example in the Annals of Esarhaddon.5

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Van Den Boorn, G.P.F (2014). The Duties of the Vizier. Routledge. ISBN 9781136881787., p. 213
  2. Gardiner, Alan H. (1957). "The Reading of the Geographical Term [tp-rsy]". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 43. Sage Publications, Ltd.: 4. doi:10.1177/030751335704300104. S2CID 192379697.
  3. Crum, Walter Ewing (1939). A Coptic dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 300.
  4. Westendorf, Wolfhart (1965–1977). Koptisches Handwörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter - Universitätsverlag. p. 166.
  5. "Esarhaddon 060". The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period. Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus. Retrieved 15 November 2014. See line o 8'.
External links
  • Joachim Friedrich Quack: Patros (2021). In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Michael Pietsch, Stefan Alkier (Hrsg.): Das wissenschaftliche Bibellexikon im Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff., Zugriffsdatum: 18. März 2022.