Bible Dictionary
Atad
Atad was the place where Joseph and his brothers mourned Jacob for seven days during the journey from Egypt to Canaan. It was also called Abel-mizraim, “the mourning of Egypt.”
Definition
Atad was a place, apparently a threshing-floor, where Joseph and his brothers mourned Jacob for seven days while carrying his remains from Egypt to Canaan. It was also called Abel-mizraim, “the mourning of Egypt.”
Biblical Usage
Atad is named in the account of Jacob’s burial. The great mourning there caused the Canaanites to give it the name Abel-mizraim.
Historical Background
The location is disputed in the supplied material. It was considered probably near Hebron, while another identification places it between the Jordan and Jericho, west of the Jordan. The name is related to a thorn or buckthorn.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Buckthorn, a place where Joseph and his brethren, when on their way from Egypt to Hebron with the remains of their father Jacob, made for seven days a “great and very sore lamentation.” On this account the Canaanites called it “Abel-mizraim” (Gen. 50:10, 11). It was probably near Hebron. The word is rendered “bramble” in Judg. 9:14, 15, and “thorns” in Ps. 58:9.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(thorn), The threshing-floor of, called also Abel-mizraim, (Genesis 50:10,11) afterwards called Beth-hogla, and known to have lain between the Jordan and Jericho, therefore on the west side of Jordan.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a'-tad ('aTadh, "a thorn"). See ABEL-MIZRAIM.</p>