Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 44:1

"The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, that dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying," — Jeremiah 44:1 (ASV)

At Migdol, and at Tahpanhes ... — We find from Jeremiah 44:15 that the discourse that follows was delivered at a large gathering of the Jews at Pathros. The number of places named (the three appear in the same combination in Jeremiah 46:14) indicates the extent of the emigration. Migdol (here, as elsewhere, meaning a “tower” or “fortress”) is named in Exodus 14:2 as on the route of the Israelites before they crossed the Red Sea, between Pi-hahiroth and Baal-zephon, and again in Ezekiel 29:10 and Ezekiel 30:6. It appears in the Itinerary of Antoninus, under the name Magdolo, as twelve miles south of Pelusium.

The latter Migdol is thought by Lepsius to be different from the former and to correspond to the Stratopeda or “camp” that Herodotus mentions was founded by Psammetichus I. as a settlement for his Ionian or Carian mercenaries (Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, Art. Migdol).

Noph was identical with Memphis and appears in Isaiah 19:13, Jeremiah 2:16, Ezekiel 30:13, and Ezekiel 30:16; it also appears as Moph in the Hebrew of Hosea 9:6.

The position of Pathros is less certain. However, it may be inferred from its mention with the other cities that it was in Lower Egypt. Possibly, as suggested by Jeremiah 44:15, Pathros was the name of the region in which the city was situated. Similarly, in Isaiah 11:11, it appears in conjunction with Mizraim (meaning Egypt) and Cush (meaning Ethiopia), both of which are names of regions and not of cities. By Brugsch (Egypt, I. 242) it has been identified with Upper Egypt, the region of the Thebaid.

There is no clear indication of the time interval between the arrival of the Jews in Egypt and the delivery of this discourse. However, it would appear that enough time had passed for the Jews to disperse and settle in the three or four cities named here, and to adopt the worship of the Egyptians. It is, however, implied throughout that the prophet is speaking to the emigrants themselves and not to their descendants (Jeremiah 44:17; Jeremiah 44:21).