Phut(put)
“Meaning uncertain; possibly related to Libya or bow”
Summary
Phut was the third son of Ham and the ancestor of an African people associated with Libya or Nubia who served as mercenaries in Egyptian and Tyrian armies.
☩Biblical References
Phut appears in the genealogy of Noah's descendants as the third son of Ham, listed between Mizraim and Canaan. The name also designates an African country or people mentioned in prophetic literature. Nahum speaks of Phut and Lubim as helpers of No-Amon (Thebes), alongside Cush and Mizraim. Ezekiel mentions Phut with Persia and Lud as supplying mercenaries to Tyre, and later as part of the army of Gog.
☩Geographic Identification
Scholars have proposed various identifications for Phut. Josephus identified Phut with the Mauritanians and mentioned a river called Fut in their territory. The Septuagint consistently translates Phut as Libya in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Coptic name 'Faiat' for Libya in Egypt supports this identification. Ancient Egyptian inscriptions refer to Nubia as 'To-pet' (the region of the Bow), which some scholars connect with Phut. The bow was the symbol of Nubia, and Herodotus records that the Ethiopian king sent an unstrung bow to Cambyses as a challenge.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Phut," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Phut," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).