Bible Dictionaries

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Naphtuhim

NAPHTUHIM. Fourth son of Mizraim ( Genesis 10:13 , 1 Chronicles 1:11 ). Many suggestions have been made to account for the name, which does not appear exactly in Egyptian or Assyrian inscriptions, but in Ashurhanipal’s Annals (col. 1. 94, 99) a district Nathu , probably in Lower Egypt, occurs, which may be the same. An Egyptian n-idhw , ‘the marshes,’ used in contrast to Pathros, may be intended; but the discovery of Caphtor, so long a puzzle, may warn us to wait for further evidence.

C. H. W. Johns.