Genesis 50:10-11

50:10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad ¹  on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. ²  There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father. 50:11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion ³  for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called ⁴  Abel Mizraim, ⁵  which is beyond the Jordan.

[50:10]  ¹ sn The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression the other side of the Jordan could refer to the eastern or western bank, depending on one’s perspective. However, it is commonly used in the OT for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.

[50:10]  ² tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.

[50:11]  ³ tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”

[50:11]  ⁴ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.

[50:11]  ⁵ sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”