Bible Encyclopedias

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Egyptian

(properly מַצְרַי, Mitsri', Αἰγύπτιος; but often in the plur. as a rendering in the A.V. of מַצְרִיסַם , Egypt), a native of the land of Egypt (q.v.); found in the sing. masc. (Genesis 39:1, etc.; Acts 21:38, etc.), fem. מַצְרַית (Genesis 16:1), plur. masc. מַצְרַים (Genesis 12:12; Genesis 12:14; Acts 7:22, etc.), fem. מַצְרַיּוֹת . (Exodus 1:19). The Egyptian insurrectionist of Acts 21:38, seems to have been a mountebank (γόης, Josephus, War, 2:13, 5), or pretended prophet (Ant. 20:7, 6). See PAUL. That country was proverbial for such characters.