Pathros

Pathros was a region in Upper Egypt (southern Egypt) where some Judeans settled after the Babylonian exile.

Pathros was a region located in Upper Egypt, the southern part of the country. It is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, particularly in the context of Judean refugees who fled to Egypt after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC (Jer. 44:1, 15). The name "Pathros" is derived from the Egyptian word "p-t-rsy," meaning "the southern land." In Isaiah 11:11, Pathros is listed among the places from which God will recover the remnant of His people. Ezekiel prophesied that God would bring judgment upon Egypt and make the land of Pathros a desolation (Ezek. 29:14; 30:14). The biblical references to Pathros indicate that it was a distinct region within Egypt and that it had a significant Judean population during the exilic and post-exilic periods.

The name generally given to Upper Egypt (the Thebaid of the Greeks), as distinguished from Matsor, or Lower Egypt (Isa. 11:11; Jer. 44:1, 15; Ezek. 30:14), the two forming Mizraim. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, colonies of Jews settled “in the country of Pathros” and other parts of Egypt.