Genesis 50:11

Gen 50:11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This [is] a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which [is] beyond Jordan.

Ver. 11. Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.] A gracious providence of God, as Piscator well observeth, that for the confirmation of the Israelites’ faith, when they were to pass over Jordan, and afterwards, there should be a standing monument there of the transportation of Jacob’s body out of Egypt into Canaan, for burial’s sake. Thus, "all things work together for good to God’s beloved." {Rom 8:28}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, the lamentation of the Egyptians.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(11) Abel-mizraim.—There is here an example of that play upon words that is always dear to Orientals. The word for “mourning” is êbel, while abel means a meadow, and is often found prefixed to the names of towns. When the Versions were made no vowel points were as yet affixed to the Hebrew consonants, and they all read Ebel-mizraim, the mourning of Egypt. The Hebrew text alone, as at present pointed, has Abel-mizraim, the meadow of Egypt.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. Abel-mizraim] This was popularly rendered “Egypt mourns,” cf. LXX πένθος Αἰγύπτου; Lat. planctus Egypti, but its true meaning would be “the meadow of Egypt, or “of the Egyptians.” In all probability, this name recalled some incident in the days of the Egyptian sovereignty over Palestine; and, when that had faded out of recollection, the name was popularly connected with the traditional mourning of the Egyptians for Jacob, on account of the similarity in sound between ’âbêl = “field” and ’êbel = “mourning.” For other place-names beginning with Abel, cf. Abel-cheramim (Jdg_11:33), Abel of Beth-maacah (2Sa_20:15).

beyond Jordan] The place was identified by Jerome with “Beth-Hoglah,” the modern Ain Haglah, south of Jericho. But the identification rests on no proof. The mention of the trans-Jordanic region presents the same difficulty here as in Gen_50:10.

12, 13 (P). And his sons] The account of Jacob’s burial, according to P, is given in these two verses. They are quite distinct from the preceding narrative, and follow directly upon Gen_49:33. Observe that, in P, no Egyptians, but only Jacob’s sons, carried him to the burying-place of Machpelah.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites,.... Who were at this time in the possession of the country where the threshingfloor of Atad was: when they

saw the mourning in the floor of Atad; for so large a company of people, and such a grand funeral procession, brought multitudes from all the neighbouring parts to see the sight; and when they observed the lamentation that was made, saw their mournful gestures and actions, and heard their doleful moan:

they said, this is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians; they concluded they must have lost some great man, to make such a lamentation for him:

wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan; they changed the name of the place, and gave it another upon this occasion, which signifies the mourning of Egypt or of the Egyptians, they being the principal persons that used the outward and more affecting tokens of mourning; though the whole company might be taken for Egyptians by the Canaanites, because they came out of Egypt.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mourning: Hebrew, "Ebel Mitsraim beyond the Jordan." On this occasion they fasted till the evening: perhaps they also cut their flesh and plucked their hair, according to the manners of the Egyptians, which customs (Leviticus xix. 28; Deuteronomy xiv. 1.) were prohibited to the Jews. (Tirinus)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

11. Abel-mizraim — That is, the mourning of the Egyptians. The Canaanites, who witnessed the unusual spectacle of lamentation, gave a new name to the place. They had never before seen such violence of mourning. Herodotus in describing the habits of the Egyptians observes, (Herod., 2:85,) that when a distinguished individual died the females of the family besmear their heads and faces with mud, and wander about beating themselves and exposing their breasts. The men, also, having their clothes girt about them, beat themselves and indulge in excessive lamentation. See also Wilkinson’s full account of Egyptian funeral rites, Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii, p. 366.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when (literally, and) the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they (literally, and they) said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim,i.e. the meadow (lbea) of the Egyptians, with a play upon the word (lbae) mourning (Keil, Kurtz, Gerlach, Rosenm &c.), if indeed the word has not been punctuated wrongly lbea instead of lbae (Kalisch), which latter reading appears to have been followed by the ;LXX. (penqov Aijguptou) and the Vulgate (planctus Aegypti)which is beyond Jordan (vide supra).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The solemn mourning for Jacob gave a name to the place; Abel-mizraim - The mourning of the Egyptians: which served for a testimony against the next generation of the Egyptians, who oppressed the posterity of this Jacob, to whom their ancestors shewed such respect.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.