Syene (NRS, NKJ) is the English rendering of Hebrew seweneh; NIV renders it Aswan.
The ancient city of Syene was strategically situated at the border between Egypt and Nubia and on the right bank of the Nile just below the First Cataract. The cataract made it necessary for goods transported from the south to be offloaded before the cataract, transported over land, before being reloaded onto other boats for the journey downstream, or for the goods to be transferred to smaller boats that could make the rapids. This made Syere one of the most important and wealthiest commercial centers in southern Egypt. Off the coast of Syene is the island of Elephantine, which added to its military importance as well. Most of the ancient city now lies beneath the modern city of Aswan, best known nowadays for the Aswan Dam that was completed in 1970.
The ancient city is mentioned three times in the Old Testament: Isa 49:12; Eze 29:10 & 30:6. In Isaiah, the city represents the extent from which the dispersed children of Israel would be regathered on the day of redemption. In both the passages in Ezekiel, Syene is paired with Migdol — "from Migdol to Syene"— as an expression of the whole of Egypt, much as the expression "from Dan to Beersheba" was used to mean the entire nation of Israel.
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