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| == Holman Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_40480" /> ==
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| Joshua 10:41 Joshua 11:16 <p> 2. The “land of Goshen” may have been named after the city of [[Goshen]] located in the district of [[Debir]] ( Joshua 15:51 ) . Goshen may have been the chief city of the region at one time. The ancient city was either located at Tell el Dhahiriyeh, twelve miles southwest of [[Hebron]] or at a location further east. </p> <p> 3. Goshen is primarily recognized as an area in the northeast sector of the Nile Delta. It was occupied by the Hebrews from the time of [[ Joseph]] until the Exodus. < /p> <p> The original meaning of the term is still debated. Some Egyptomologists suggest an association with the [[ Egyptian]] word kspgr508/ arposem, meaning “inundated land.” The “land of Goshen” first appears in papyrus of the Twelfth Dynasty. See Genesis 47:6 , Genesis 47:6, 47:11 ) Goshen is described as the “best of the land.” In the latter passage it is equated with the “land of Rameses, ” which was probably identical with or near to the “field of Zoan.” See Avaris; [[ Rameses]] ; Tanis; [[ Zoan]] . Zoan was apparently the Egyptian capital during the [[Hyksos]] period. < /p> < p> Goshen has been recognized by various names. (1) Goshen ( Genesis 45:10; Genesis 46:34 ) is translated in the [[Septuagint]] “Arabian Gesem. ” The change probably resulted from the translators identifying Gesem with [[ Geshem]] ( Nehemiah 2:19; Nehemiah 6:1-2 , Nehemiah 6:1-2, 6:6 ), the [[ Arabian]] king who was Nehemiah's foe (see Genesis 46:28 ) in the Septuagint. Joseph met his father there. Some scholars equate Heroonpolis with the Egyptian storage city, [[ Pithom]] ( Exodus 1:11 ). See Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:26 ), but began their Exodus from Rameses ( Exodus 12:37; Numbers 33:3 ), which was a city they helped to build ( Exodus 1:11 ). Unfortunately little is known of the region prior to Rameses II. Possibly, the Hebrews settled here with the Hyksos during Joseph's time. Undoubtedly, Goshen, “land of Rameses,” refers to the land around the city of Rameses and in the vicinity of Pithom. ( 4) It is generally agreed that Goshen is to be located in wadi Tumilat which stretches from the eastern arm of the Nile to the Great [[Bitter]] Lakes. Texts from the about 1250 B. C. describe how nomadic tribes moved from [[ Edom]] past the Merneptah fortress in Teku to the wells of Pithom. See Merneptah . Teku is wadi Tumilat. It is approximately 35 miles long and covers 900 square miles. </p> <p> Goshen is significant for biblical studies for four reasons. (1) The pharaoh assigned Goshen to Joseph's family when they entered Egypt ( Genesis 47: 6 ,Genesis 47:6, 47: 11 ). The “Hebrew Sojourn” occurred there. ( 2) The territory lay on a route from [[Palestine]] to Egypt. ( 3) It may be possible to date Joseph's entrance to Egypt with the Hyksos control of the Delta. ( 4) Both the two cities which the Hebrews built, Rameses and Pithom, and the Hyksos capital at Zoan are key issues for settling on a date for the Exodus. </p> <p> Gary D. [[ Baldwin]] </p> | | Goshen <ref name="term_4204" /> |
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| | <p> ''''' gō´shen ''''' ( גּשׁן , <i> ''''' gōshen ''''' </i> ; Γεσέμ , <i> ''''' Gesém ''''' </i> ) : </p> 1. Meaning of Name <p> The region where the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt. If the [[ Septuagint]] reading < i> ''''' [[ Gesem]] ''''' </ i> be correct, the word, which in its [[Hebrew]] form has no known meaning, may mean "cultivated" - comparing the Arabic root <i> ''''' jashima ''''' </i> , "to labor." Egyptologists have suggested a connection with the [[Egyptian]] word <i> ''''' ḳās ''''' </i> , meaning "inundated land" because [[ Goshen]] was apparently the same region, called by the [[ Greeks]] the "Arabian nome," which had its capital at Phakousa representing the Egyptian < i> ''''' Pa ''''' </i> - < i> ''''' ḳas ''''' </i> (Brugsch, <i> Geog </i> . , I, 298), the name of a town, with the determinative for "pouring forth." [[ Van]] der Hardt, indeed, more than a century ago ( see Sayce, <i> [[ Higher]] [[ Criticism]] </i> , 235) , supposed the two words to be connected. Dr. Naville in 1887 found the word as denoting the vicinity of Pi-sopt (now <i> ''''' Saft el Henneh ''''' </i> ), 6 miles East of [[Zagazig]] - in the form <i> ''''' Ḳ ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' s ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' m ''''' </i> . He concludes that this was the site of Phakousa, but the latter is usually placed at <i> ''''' Tell el Faḳûs ''''' </i> , about 15 miles South of [[Zoan]] ( which see) , and this appears to be the situation of the "City of Arabia" which Silvia, about 385 ad, identifies with Gesse or Goshen; for she reached it in her journey from Heroöpolis, through Goshen to Tathnis or Taphnis (Daphnai), and to Pelusium. </p> 2. [[ Situation]] <p> It is generally agreed that Goshen was the region East of the Bubastic branch of the Nile; and in Psalm 78: 12 , Psalm 78: 43 , it seems to be clearly identified with the "field ( or pastoral plain) of Zoan," which was probably also the "land of Rameses" mentioned ( Genesis 47:11 ) as possessed by Jacob's family (see [[Raamses]]; Zoan ). Where first mentioned ( Genesis 45:10 ), Goshen is promised by [[ Joseph]] to Jacob as a land fit for flocks, and the Septuagint here reads, " Gesem of Arabia," probably referring to the [[Arabian]] nome which took its name from the " desert" which defended the East border of Egypt. In the second notice ( Genesis 46: 28 f), the boundary of the land of Goshen, where Joseph met his father, is called in the Septuagint <i > ''''' Hērōō ''''' </i> ‛n' - <i> ''''' polis ''''' </i> , and also ( Genesis 46: 28 ) "the land of Ramesse(s)"; so that in the 3rd century bc Goshen seems to have been identified with the whole region of the Arabian nome, as far South as Heroöpolis which (see [[ Pithom]] ) lay in <i> ''''' Wâdy Tumeilât ''''' </ i> . Goshen included pastoral lands ( Genesis 46: 34; Genesis 47:1 , Genesis 47: 4 , Genesis 47:6 , Genesis 47:27; Genesis 50:8 ) and was still inhabited by the Hebrews at the time of the Exodus ( Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9: 26 ) , after which it is unnoticed in the Old Testament. The name, however, applied to other places which were probably " cultivated" lands, including a region in the South of [[Palestine]] ( Joshua 10: 41; Joshua 11 :16 ), "all the country of Goshen (Septuagint <i> ''''' Gosóm ''''' </i> ), even unto Gibeon," and a city of Judah ( Joshua 15:51 ) in the mountains near Beersheba. These notices seem to show that the word is not of Egyptian origin. </p> 3. Description <p> The region thus very clearly indicated was not of any great extent, having an area of only about 900 square miles, including two very different districts. The western half, immediately East of the Bubastic branch of the Nile, stretches from Zoan to [[Bubastis]] (at both of which cities records of the [[Hyksos]] ruler Apepi have been found), or a distance of about 35 miles North and South. This region is an irrigated plain which is still considered to include some of the best land in Egypt. The description of the land of [[Rameses]] ( see [[ Raamses]] ), in the 14th century bc, shows its fertility; and Silvia says that the land of Goshen was 16 miles from Heroöpolis, and that she traveled for two days in it "through vineyards, and balsam plantations, and orchards, and tilled fields, and gardens." The region narrows from about 15 miles near the seashore to about 10 miles between <i> ''''' Zagazig ''''' </i> and <i> ''''' Tell el Kebı̂r ''''' </i> on the Southeast of this, a sandy and gravelly desert lies between the Nile plain and the [[ Suez]] Canal, broadening southward from near Daphnai ( <i> ''''' Tell Defeneh ''''' </i> ) to <i> ''''' Wâdy Tumeilât ''''' </i> , where it Isaiah 40 miles across East and West. South of this valley an equally waterless desert stretches to Suez, and from the [[Bitter]] [[Lakes]] on the East to the vicinity of [[Heliopolis]] (Southeast of Cairo) on the West. Thus, <i> ''''' Wâdy Tumeilât ''''' </i> , which is fertilized by the Nile waters (see [[Pi-Hahiroth]] ), and contains villages and corn fields, is the only natural route for a people driving with their flocks and herds by which the vicinity of the Red Sea can be reached, the road leading from the South end of the "field of Zoan" near Bubastis, and 40 miles eastward to the "edge of the wilderness" (see [[Etham]] ) and the head of the Bitter Lakes. This physical conformation is important in relation to the route of the [[Israelites]] (see [[Exodus]] ); and <i> ' '''' Wâdy Tumeilât ''''' < /i> may very possibly be intended to be included in Goshen, as the Septuagint translators supposed. </p> |
| == Fausset's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_35548" /> ==
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| <p> '''1.''' Three Egyptian homes in the Delta, and extending over part of Goshen, bore a name beginning with ka or ga, "a bull," namely, Mnevis, worshipped at On, representing [[Turn]] the unknown source of all existence. N.E. of Lower Egypt, having the [[Mediterranean]] on N., the desert on E., the Delta and the Tanitic branch of the Nile on W. (hence called the field of Zoan or Tanis, Psalms 78:12; Psalms 78:43), extending S. to the head of the Red Sea and nearly to Memphis. Also called the land of Rameses, in which [[Israel]] built (i.e. fortified anew) for [[Pharaoh]] [[Raamses]] and Pithom as treasure cities ( Genesis 47:11; Exodus 1:11). Joseph naturally placed his family on the border land between Egypt and Palestine, the promised land, and at the same time near himself at [[Tunis]] or else [[Memphis]] the capital of Egypt. Goshen corresponded to Wady-'t-Tumeylat. </p> <p> The fresh water canal runs through it from the Nile to Ismailia. From [[El]] [[Wady]] to the head of the gulf of [[Suez]] is three days' journey, the distance assigned in Exodus. The answer of Joseph's brethren to Pharaoh ( Genesis 46:28; Genesis 46:34), "thy servants have been herdsmen from our youth," (Joseph so instructing them "that ye may dwell in ... Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians,") proves that Goshen was regarded by [[Egyptians]] as scarcely Egypt proper, though having many Egyptians in it, as is recorded during the ten plagues; also foreigners. (See [[Beriah]] .) The names of sonic places in Goshen are Semitic, as [[Migdol]] and Baal-zephon. Joseph lived under the 12th or 13th dynasty, a native not a shepherd dynasty (as Genesis 46:34 proves). </p> <p> Pharaoh calls Goshen "the best of the land" ( Genesis 47:5-11), namely, for a pastoral people as Israel; for in tillage the parts of Egypt next the Nile are more fertile than Goshen. In Goshen Pharaoh implies he kept some of his cattle, over which he proposes to set [[Israelites]] as rulers of herdsmen. The separation of Israel from the plagues marks the distinctness of the land. Israel setting out from Rameses in Goshen in two days reached the edge of the Wilderness, and in one day more the Red Sea, i.e. from Rameses (on the old canal from the Tanitic arm of the Nile to lake Timsah) 30 miles direct to the ancient western shore. The Septuagint call Goshen "Gesen of Arabia;" and Pliny "the Arabic nome" from its bordering on Arabia. Now Esh-Shurkiyeh, well intersected by canals; Egypt's best province, yielding the largest revenue. </p> <p> '''2.''' A district in S. Palestine, between [[Gaza]] and [[Gibeon]] ( Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:16), and a city ( Joshua 15:51); between the S. country (the Negeb) and the '''''Shephelah''''' (the low hills between the mountain and plain, not as KJV "the valley ") of Judah. [[Doubtless]] named in remembrance of Israel's original place of sojourn in Egypt. </p>
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| == American Tract Society Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_16158" /> ==
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| <p> 1. The name of the tract of country in Egypt which was inhabited by the Israelites from the time of Jacob to that of Moses. It was probably the tract lying east of the Pelusian arm of the Nile, towards Arabia. See Exodus 1:22 2:3 , since the [[Jews]] ate fish in abundance, Numbers 11:5 , and "practiced artificial irrigation", Deuteronomy 11:10 . It was near [[Heliopolis]] and Rameses, and not far from the capital of Egypt, Genesis 45:10 47:11 Exodus 8:1-12:51 . It was a part of "the best of the land," at least for the pastoral Hebrews, Genesis 46:34 , and was evidently better watered and more fertile than at present. Here they greatly multiplied and prospered, Genesis 47:27 , and here they were sorely afflicted, and yet not forgotten of God, Exodus 8:22 9:26 . Many Egyptians dwelt among and around them. </p> <p> 2. A city and the adjacent territory in the mountains of Judah, Joshua 10:41 11:16 15:51 . </p>
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| == Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_51215" /> ==
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| <p> <strong> GOSHEN. 1. </strong> An unknown city in Judah ( Joshua 15:51 ) <strong> 2. </strong> An unknown territory in S. Palestine, probably the environs of No. 1 ( Joshua 10:41 ). <strong> 3. </strong> A division of Egypt in which the children of Israel were settled between Jacob’s entry and the Exodus. It was a place of good pasture, on or near the frontier of Palestine, and plentiful in vegetables and fish ( Numbers 11:5 ). It cannot with exactness be defined. Jdt 1:9-10 is probably wrong in including the nomes of [[Tanis]] and Memphis in Goshen. The LXX [Note: Septuagint.] reads ‘Gesem of Arabia’ in [[Genesis]] 45:10; Genesis 46:34 , elsewhere ‘Gesem.’ Now [[Arabia]] is defined by Ptolemy, the geographer, as an Egyptian nome on the East border of the Delta of the Nile, and this seems to be the locality most probably contemplated by the narrator. It runs eastwards from opposite the modern <em> [[Zagazig]] </em> (Bubastis) to the Bitter Lakes. There seems to be no Egyptian origin for the name, unless it represented <em> Kesem </em> , the Egyptian equivalent of <em> Phacussa </em> (the chief town of the nome of Arabia according to Ptolemy). It may be of Semitic origin, as is suggested by the occurrence of the name, as noticed above, outside Egyptian territory. </p> <p> R. A. S. Macalister. </p>
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| == People's Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_70148" /> ==
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| <p> [[Goshen]] ( ''Gô'Shen'' ). 1. The portion of Egypt assigned to Israel. Genesis 45:5; Genesis 45:10; Genesis 46:28; Genesis 47:27; Genesis 50:8. It probably bordered on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, hence called Zoan or Tanis, Psalms 78:12, and reached from the Mediterranean to the Red sea. It was suited to shepherds, and abounded in vegetables. It contained the treasure-cities Rameses and Pithom. Goshen was near the royal capital, Genesis 47:27 compared with 48:1, 2; Exodus 5:20; appears to have been the starting-place of the Israelites in their journey to the land of promise. Exodus 12:37; Exodus 38:2. A district in Palestine, perhaps between Gibeon and Gaza. Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:16. 3. A city in the hill-country of Judah, Joshua 15:51. </p>
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| == Morrish Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_66278" /> ==
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| <p> 1. The part of Egypt in which the Israelites were located. It is often called 'the land of Goshen,' and is also termed 'the land of Rameses.' Pharaoh bade Joseph place his father and his brethren in the best of the land. It is generally supposed that Goshen was situated on the east of the ancient Delta of the Nile. Genesis 45:10; Genesis 46:28,29,34; Genesis 47:1,4,6,11,27; Genesis 50:8; Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:26 . </p> <p> 2. Land or district in the southern part of Palestine. Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:16 . Not identified. </p> <p> 3. Town in the highlands of Judah. Joshua 15:51 . Not identified. </p>
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| == Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_80775" /> ==
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| <p> This was the most fertile pasture ground in the whole of Lower Egypt; thence called Goshen, from <em> gush, </em> in Arabic, signifying "a heart," or whatsoever is choice or precious. There was also a Goshen in the territory of the tribe of Judah, so called for the same reason, Joshua 10:41 . </p> <p> Hence Joseph recommended it to his family as "the best of the land," </p> <p> Genesis 47:11 , and "the fat of the land." Genesis 45:18 . The land of Goshen lay along the most easterly branch of the Nile, and on the east side of it; for it is evident that, at the time of the exode, the Israelites did not cross the Nile. In ancient times, the fertile land was considerably more extensive, both in length and breadth, than at present, in consequence of the general failure of the eastern branches of the Nile; the main body of the river verging more and more to the west continually, and deepening the channels on that side. </p>
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| == Bridgeway Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_18648" /> ==
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| <p> Goshen was the territory where the family of Jacob settled in Egypt. It was in the East Nile Delta and was suitable for raising flocks and herds ( Genesis 47:1-6). The descendants of Jacob lived there for about four hundred years, and during that time they multiplied enormously. The royal city of Rameses, which the Egyptians forced the Israelites to build by slave labour, was in Goshen ( Genesis 47:6; Genesis 47:11; Genesis 47:27; Exodus 1:11; Exodus 12:37). Goshen was largely protected from the plagues that fell on other parts of Egypt during the time of Moses’ conflict with Pharaoh ( Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:26). (See also [[Egypt]] .) </p>
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| == Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary <ref name="term_47820" /> ==
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| <p> Perhaps so called from Goshen, rain, or the dew of heaven in blessings. For this place being nearer to the Mediterranean sea than Upper Egypt, had plentiful showers to make it fertile. Here it was Jacob and his children dwelt, when brought down into Egypt. ( Genesis 47:1-6) Perhaps there might have been even in those days, a remote idea to the times of the gospel in the name of Goshen; for even now in the present hour, that is truly a land of Goshen where Christ is truly known, and where heaven hath shed and is shedding its blessed influences, in the showers of his [[Holy]] Spirit; while all the earth is as Egypt in the dryness, where no rains are known, and where the gospel of Christ is not. </p>
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| == Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_31688" /> ==
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| <li> A town in the mountains of Judah ( Joshua 15:51 ). <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton [[M.A., DD]] Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Goshen'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/g/goshen.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>
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| == Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature <ref name="term_15776" /> ==
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| <p> Go´shen, a province or district of Egypt in which Jacob and his family settled through the instrumentality of his son Joseph, and in which they and their descendants remained for a period of 430 years (;;;;; ). The Bible does not present any definite information as to the precise locality of Goshen, and of course later authorities possess only an inferior value. There are, however, incidental expressions, allusions, and implications in the Scriptures, which afford aid in determining the spot. That Goshen lay on the eastern side of the Nile may be justifiably inferred from the fact that Jacob is not reported to have crossed that river; nor does it appear that the Israelites did so in their flight out of Egypt. With this inference all the language employed (see the passages as given above), to say the least, agrees, if it does not afford an indirect evidence in its favor. By comparing and the Septuagint translation of (which calls Goshen, Goshen near Arabia), it appears that Goshen bordered on Arabia as well as Palestine, and the passage of the Israelites out of Egypt shows that the land was not far removed from the Red Sea. It appears probable that we may fix the locality of Goshen in Lower Egypt, on the east side of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, in the district around Hierapolis. </p> <p> This district was suitable for a nomadic people, who would have been misplaced in the narrow limits of the valley of the Nile. [[Children]] of the desert, or at least used as they were to wander freely from one fertile plain to another with their flocks and herds, the sons of Jacob required a spot where the advantages of an advanced civilization could be united with unrestricted freedom, and abundance be secured without the forfeiture of early and cherished habits. The several opinions entertained on this point substantially agree in referring Goshen to the country intervening between the desert of Arabia and Palestine on the one side, and the Pelusiac arm of the Nile on the other, with the Mediterranean at the base. The district assigned to Jacob and his family was chosen for its superiority , 'In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell, in the land of Goshen let them dwell;' and the subsequent increase of the Israelites themselves, as well as the multiplication of their cattle, shows that the territory was one of extraordinary fertility. Time and circumstances have doubtless had their effect on the fertility of country in which the desert is ever ready to make encroachments as soon as the repelling hand of man is relaxed or withdrawn. But Laborde represents the vicinity of Heliopolis as still covered with palm-trees, and as having an enclosure, comprehending a considerable space of ground, which is covered every year by the inundation of the Nile to the height of five feet. We are not, however, to expect evidences of luxuriant fertility. The country was chosen for its pre-eminent fitness for shepherds. If a nomadic tribe had wide space and good pasture-grounds, they would have 'the best (for themselves) of the land,' and these advantages the district in which we have placed Goshen abundantly supplied in ancient times, when the waters of the Nile were more liberally dispensed than at present to the eastern side of the country. Nothing is needed but water to make the desert fertile. 'The water of the Nile soaks through the earth for some distance under the sandy tract (the neighborhood of Heliopolis), and is everywhere found on digging wells eighteen or twenty feet deep. Such wells are very frequent in parts which the inundation does not reach. The water is raised from them by wheels turned by oxen and applied to the irrigation of the fields. Whenever this takes place the desert is turned into a fruitful field. In passing to Heliopolis we saw several such fields in the different stages of being reclaimed from the desert; some just laid out, others already fertile. In returning by another way more eastward, we passed a succession of beautiful plantations wholly dependent on this mode of irrigation' (Robinson's Palestine, vol. 1, p. 36). </p>
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| == Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_42011" /> ==
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| <p> '''Bibliography Information''' McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Goshen'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and [[Ecclesiastical]] Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/g/goshen.html. [[Harper]] & Brothers. New York. 1870. </p>
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| == The Nuttall Encyclopedia <ref name="term_73854" /> ==
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| <p> A fertile district along a branch of the Nile, in the eastern part of the delta of Lower Egypt; assigned by Pharaoh to the children of Israel when they came to sojourn in the land. </p>
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| ==References == | |
| <references> | | <references> |
| | | <ref name="term_4204"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/international-standard-bible-encyclopedia/goshen+(1) Goshen from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia]</ref> |
| <ref name="term_40480"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref> | |
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| <ref name="term_35548"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/fausset-s-bible-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Fausset's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_16158"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/american-tract-society-bible-dictionary/goshen Goshen from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_51215"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-bible/goshen Goshen from Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_70148"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/people-s-dictionary-of-the-bible/goshen Goshen from People's Dictionary of the Bible]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_66278"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/morrish-bible-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Morrish Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_80775"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/watson-s-biblical-theological-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_18648"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/bridgeway-bible-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Bridgeway Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_47820"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hawker-s-poor-man-s-concordance-and-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_31688"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/easton-s-bible-dictionary/goshen Goshen from Easton's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_15776"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/kitto-s-popular-cyclopedia-of-biblial-literature/goshen Goshen from Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_42011"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/goshen Goshen from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_73854"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/the-nuttall-encyclopedia/goshen Goshen from The Nuttall Encyclopedia]</ref>
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| </references> | | </references> |
Goshen [1]
gō´shen ( גּשׁן , gōshen ; Γεσέμ , Gesém ):
1. Meaning of Name
The region where the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt. If the Septuagint reading Gesem be correct, the word, which in its Hebrew form has no known meaning, may mean "cultivated" - comparing the Arabic root jashima , "to labor." Egyptologists have suggested a connection with the Egyptian word ḳās , meaning "inundated land" because Goshen was apparently the same region, called by the Greeks the "Arabian nome," which had its capital at Phakousa representing the Egyptian Pa - ḳas (Brugsch, Geog ., I, 298), the name of a town, with the determinative for "pouring forth." Van der Hardt, indeed, more than a century ago (see Sayce, Higher Criticism , 235), supposed the two words to be connected. Dr. Naville in 1887 found the word as denoting the vicinity of Pi-sopt (now Saft el Henneh ), 6 miles East of Zagazig - in the form Ḳ - s - m . He concludes that this was the site of Phakousa, but the latter is usually placed at Tell el Faḳûs , about 15 miles South of Zoan (which see), and this appears to be the situation of the "City of Arabia" which Silvia, about 385 ad, identifies with Gesse or Goshen; for she reached it in her journey from Heroöpolis, through Goshen to Tathnis or Taphnis (Daphnai), and to Pelusium.
2. Situation
It is generally agreed that Goshen was the region East of the Bubastic branch of the Nile; and in Psalm 78:12 , Psalm 78:43 , it seems to be clearly identified with the "field (or pastoral plain) of Zoan," which was probably also the "land of Rameses" mentioned ( Genesis 47:11 ) as possessed by Jacob's family (see Raamses; Zoan ). Where first mentioned ( Genesis 45:10 ), Goshen is promised by Joseph to Jacob as a land fit for flocks, and the Septuagint here reads, "Gesem of Arabia," probably referring to the Arabian nome which took its name from the "desert" which defended the East border of Egypt. In the second notice ( Genesis 46:28 f), the boundary of the land of Goshen, where Joseph met his father, is called in the Septuagint Hērōō ‛n' - polis , and also ( Genesis 46:28 ) "the land of Ramesse(s)"; so that in the 3rd century bc Goshen seems to have been identified with the whole region of the Arabian nome, as far South as Heroöpolis which (see Pithom ) lay in Wâdy Tumeilât . Goshen included pastoral lands ( Genesis 46:34; Genesis 47:1 , Genesis 47:4 , Genesis 47:6 , Genesis 47:27; Genesis 50:8 ) and was still inhabited by the Hebrews at the time of the Exodus ( Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:26 ), after which it is unnoticed in the Old Testament. The name, however, applied to other places which were probably "cultivated" lands, including a region in the South of Palestine ( Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:16 ), "all the country of Goshen (Septuagint Gosóm ), even unto Gibeon," and a city of Judah ( Joshua 15:51 ) in the mountains near Beersheba. These notices seem to show that the word is not of Egyptian origin.
3. Description
The region thus very clearly indicated was not of any great extent, having an area of only about 900 square miles, including two very different districts. The western half, immediately East of the Bubastic branch of the Nile, stretches from Zoan to Bubastis (at both of which cities records of the Hyksos ruler Apepi have been found), or a distance of about 35 miles North and South. This region is an irrigated plain which is still considered to include some of the best land in Egypt. The description of the land of Rameses (see Raamses ), in the 14th century bc, shows its fertility; and Silvia says that the land of Goshen was 16 miles from Heroöpolis, and that she traveled for two days in it "through vineyards, and balsam plantations, and orchards, and tilled fields, and gardens." The region narrows from about 15 miles near the seashore to about 10 miles between Zagazig and Tell el Kebı̂r on the Southeast of this, a sandy and gravelly desert lies between the Nile plain and the Suez Canal, broadening southward from near Daphnai ( Tell Defeneh ) to Wâdy Tumeilât , where it Isaiah 40 miles across East and West. South of this valley an equally waterless desert stretches to Suez, and from the Bitter Lakes on the East to the vicinity of Heliopolis (Southeast of Cairo) on the West. Thus, Wâdy Tumeilât , which is fertilized by the Nile waters (see Pi-Hahiroth ), and contains villages and corn fields, is the only natural route for a people driving with their flocks and herds by which the vicinity of the Red Sea can be reached, the road leading from the South end of the "field of Zoan" near Bubastis, and 40 miles eastward to the "edge of the wilderness" (see Etham ) and the head of the Bitter Lakes. This physical conformation is important in relation to the route of the Israelites (see Exodus ); and Wâdy Tumeilât may very possibly be intended to be included in Goshen, as the Septuagint translators supposed.
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