Meaning of EPHRON

(a) A Hittite residing in Hebron and owner of the cave of Machpelah, which he sold to Abraham (Gen. 23:8, 9; 25:9).
(b) Mountainous region on the border of Judah (Josh. 15:9).
(c) City that Abijah took from Jeroboam (2 Chron. 17:19).

In Hebrew "Mizraim" (actually, "Mitsraim"), is a dual form, meaning "the two Matsors", in the opinion of some, and representing Upper and Lower Egypt. It is also called "Land of Ham" in Ps. 105:23, 27; and "Rahab," meaning "the proud one," in Ps. 87:4; 89:10; Isaiah 51:9.

(This name is not the same in Hebrew as that of the harlot Rahab, which is exactly Rachab.) Upper Egypt is called “Pathros,” or “southern land” (Isa. 11:11). Lower Egypt is Matsor in Is. 19:6; 37:25, translated in the KJV as "pits" in the first passage, and "Egypt" in the second.

Egypt is one of the oldest and most renowned countries. The date of its foundation is the subject of many and diverse hypotheses, which have been revised over time.

I - History
Generally, the history of ancient Egypt is divided into three parts.

1. Old Kingdom, from its beginning to the invasion of Egypt by the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings. This, based on the commonly accepted model, would cover the first eleven dynasties. In some of these dynasties the kings resided in Memphis, and those of others in Thebes.

This raises the important question of whether some of the dynasties were contemporaneous in their existence. The construction of the Great Pyramid and the second and third pyramids, as well as the construction of the Sphinx of Gizeh, are attributed to the first four dynasties.

2. The Middle Kingdom began, in the commonly accepted model, with the twelfth dynasty. Some Hyksos had settled in Lower Egypt already under the sixth dynasty; They extended their power in the Fourteenth Dynasty, and reigned supreme during the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Dynasties. They were Semites from Asia.

They settled in the north of Egypt in Zoam, or Tanis and Avaris, while Egyptian kings reigned in the south. They are supposed to have held power in the north for about 500 years, but others believe their rule was much shorter. (See HICSOS).

3. The New Kingdom was inaugurated by the expulsion of the Hyksos in the eighteenth dynasty, when Egypt regained its former power, as we see from the OT.