Difference between revisions of "Ethiopia"

<p> Hebrew; &nbsp;Cush . (See &nbsp;CUSH; BABYLON.) &nbsp;Isaiah 11:11. S. of Egypt. Now Nubia, Sennaar, Kordofan, and N. Abyssinia. In a stricter sense the kingdom of Meroe from the junction of the [[Blue]] and the White Nile to the border of Egypt. [[Syene]] on the N. marked the boundary from [[Egypt]] (&nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10; &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:6). The Red Sea was on the Ethiopia, the [[Libyan]] desert on the W. The native name was Ethaush; the Greek "Ethiopia" means the land of the sunburnt. Compare &nbsp;Jeremiah 13:23, "can the [[Ethiopian]] change his skin?" "The rivers of Ethiopia" (&nbsp;Zephaniah 3:10) are the two branches of the Nile and the Astabbras (Tacazze). The Nile forms a series of cataracts here. The dispersed [[Israelites]] shall be brought as an offering by the nations to the Lord (&nbsp;Zephaniah 3:8-9; &nbsp;Isaiah 66:20; &nbsp;Isaiah 60:9), from both the African and the [[Babylonian]] Cush, where the ten tribes were scattered in Peter's time (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:1; &nbsp;1 Peter 5:13; &nbsp;Isaiah 11:11, "from [[Cush]] and from Shinar".) </p> <p> The [[Falashas]] of Abyssinia are probably of the ten tribes. In &nbsp;Isaiah 18:1, "the land shadowing with wings" is [[Ethiopia]] shadowing (protecting) with its two wings (Egyptian and Ethiopian forces) the Jews, "a nation scattered and peeled" (loaded with indignity, made bald) though once "terrible" when God put a terror of them into surrounding nations (&nbsp;Exodus 23:27; &nbsp;Joshua 2:9), "a nation meted out and trodden down whose land the (Assyrian) rivers (i.e. armies, &nbsp;Isaiah 8:7-8) have spoiled"; the Jews, not the Ethiopians. Ethiopia had sent her ambassadors to [[Jerusalem]] where they now were (&nbsp;Isaiah 18:2), [[Tirhakah]] their king shortly afterward being the ally whose diversion in that city's favor saved it from [[Sennacherib]] (&nbsp;Isaiah 36:37). Isaiah announces Sennacherib's coming overthrow to the Ethiopian ambassadors and desires them to carry the tidings to their own land (compare &nbsp;Isaiah 17:12-14; not "woe" but "ho," calling attention (&nbsp;Isaiah 18:1-2); go, take back the tidings of what God is about, to do against Assyria, the common foe of both Ethiopia and Judah. </p> <p> [[Queen]] [[Candace]] reigned in this Nile-formed is land region; the name is the official designation of a female dynasty shortly before our Lord's time (&nbsp;Acts 8:27). The "vessels of bulrushes" or papyrus boats are peculiarly suited to the Upper Nile, as being capable of carriage on the shoulders at the rocks and cataracts. Ethiopia" is often used when Upper Egypt and Ethiopia are meant. It is the Thebaid or Upper Egypt, not Ethiopia by itself, that was peopled and cultivated, when most of Lower Egypt was a marsh. Thus Ethiopia and Egypt are said (&nbsp;Nahum 3:9) to be the "strength" of "populous No" or Thebes. [[Zerah]] the Ethiopian who attacked Asa at [[Mareshah]] on the S. of Palestine, and Tirhakah the Ethiopian who advanced toward [[Judah]] against Sennacherib, were doubtless rulers of Upper Egypt and Ethiopia combined. Tirhakah's name is found only on a Theban temple, and his connection with Ethiopia is marked by several monuments there being ascribed to him. </p> <p> An Azerch-Amen reigned in Ethiopia, we know from the monuments; perhaps = Zerah (Rawlinson). Hincks identifies him with Osorkon I, king of Egypt, second of the 22nd dynasty (See &nbsp;ASA) (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 14:9). Tirhakah was third of the 25th dynasty of Egypt, an Ethiopian dynasty. So or Sevechus or Sabacho was another of this dynasty; the ally of [[Hoshea]] king of [[Israel]] against [[Shalmaneser]] (&nbsp;2 Kings 17:3-4). Osirtasin I (Sesostris, Herodotus, 2:110), of the 12th dynasty, was the first [[Egyptian]] king who ruled Ethiopia. While the shepherd kings ruled Lower Egypt the 13th native dynasty retired to the Ethiopian capital Napara. Shishak's army was largely composed of [[Ethiopians]] (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 12:3). </p> <p> The monuments confirm &nbsp;Isaiah 20:4; &nbsp;Nahum 3:5; &nbsp;Nahum 3:8-9, by representing [[Sargon]] as warring with Egypt and making the [[Pharaoh]] tributary; they also make Ethiopia closely united to Egypt. Probably he was provoked by the help which So had given to his rebel tributary Hoshea. The inscriptions tell us Sargon destroyed [[No-Amon]] or [[Thebes]] in part, which was the capital of Upper Egypt, with which Ethiopia was joined. Esarhaddon, according to the monuments, conquered Egypt and Ethiopia Meroe was the emporium where the produce of the distant S. was gathered for transport either by the Nile or by caravans to northern Africa; compare &nbsp;Isaiah 45:14. </p>

<p> &nbsp;Ethiopia (&nbsp;ç'thi-ô'pi-ah), &nbsp;burnt-faces. Called Cash by the Hebrews, a country south of Egypt. &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10. In the [[Scriptures]] "Ethiopia" usually refers to the region extending from Egypt southward beyond the junction of the White and Blue Nile. This was Seba, &nbsp;Isaiah 43:3, and known to the Romans as the kingdom of Meroe. The country is rolling and mountainous, the elevation increasing toward the south, until it reaches a height of about 8000 feet in Abyssinia. Frequent notices of this country and its people are found in the Bible. It was settled by the children of Ham, &nbsp;Genesis 10:6, dark-skinned men of stature. &nbsp;Jeremiah 13:23; &nbsp;Isaiah 45:14. They were selected as members of royal households. &nbsp;Jeremiah 38:7-13. The treasurer of its queen, Candace was baptized by Philip. &nbsp;Acts 8:27-38. It is noticed in, connection with Egypt, &nbsp;Isaiah 20:4; &nbsp;Isaiah 43:3; &nbsp;Isaiah 45:14; with [[Libya]] (Phut), &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:9 : [[Lydia]] and [[Chub]] (Lub and Lud), &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:5, and the Sukkiim. &nbsp;2 Chronicles 12:3. [[Moses]] married an Ethiopian, &nbsp;Numbers 12:1; Ethiopians were in Shishak's army, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 12:3; Zerah, an Ethiopian king, had an army of a million soldiers, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 14:9-12 : Job mentioned the precious stones of Ethiopia, &nbsp;Job 28:19; the Israelites were familiar with the merchandise of that country, &nbsp;Isaiah 45:14; and Isaiah foretold the subjugation of Ethiopia by the Assyrians. &nbsp;Isaiah 20:4; &nbsp;Isaiah 20:6. Among the [[Assyrian]] inscriptions of Assurbanipal, now in the British Museum, [[George]] Smith deciphered several which especially illustrate and confirm the fulfillment of this prophecy. Among other prophecies in respect to Ethiopia are &nbsp;Psalms 68:31; &nbsp;Psalms 87:4; &nbsp;Isaiah 45:14; &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:4-9; &nbsp;Daniel 11:43; &nbsp;Habakkuk 3:7; &nbsp;Zephaniah 2:12; &nbsp;Nahum 3:8-10. The Romans in the reign of [[Augustus]] Caesar, b.c. 22, defeated Candace, queen of Ethiopia, and made the country tributary to Rome. Candace was an official title of the queens, one of whom is named in &nbsp;Acts 8:27. </p>

<p> Apart from Egypt, Ethiopia is the most frequently mentioned African country in the Bible. It was sometimes called Cush and its people were dark-skinned. It bordered Egypt to Egypt’s south and, like Egypt, was centred on the Nile [[River.]] The region it occupied is today the northern part of Sudan (&nbsp;Isaiah 18:1-2; &nbsp;Jeremiah 13:23; &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10; for map of the region see &nbsp;EGYPT). </p> <p> To most of the people of Palestine, Ethiopia was the southernmost country they knew of. Writers frequently used its name poetically to symbolize the unlimited extent of God’s sovereign rule (&nbsp;Psalms 68:31; &nbsp;Isaiah 11:11; &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:4-5; &nbsp;Zephaniah 3:10). </p> <p> Individuals from Ethiopia feature occasionally in the Old [[Testament]] story. During Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan, Moses married an Ethiopian woman, probably after his first wife had died (&nbsp;Numbers 12:1). In later times an Ethiopian who worked in the palace of the [[Judean]] king saved the life of God’s prophet Jeremiah (&nbsp;Jeremiah 38:7-13; &nbsp;Jeremiah 39:15-18). </p> <p> Ethiopia features in the biblical record mainly during the period of the divided [[Israelite]] kingdom, when it attacked Judah on at least two occasions (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 12:2-4; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 14:9-15). Later it gained control over Upper Egypt, and for about half a century exercised a strong influence over Egypt. It even challenged Assyria, which was the leading power of the time (&nbsp;2 Kings 19:8-9; &nbsp;Nahum 3:8-9). The challenge brought little success and soon Ethiopia, along with its ally Egypt, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of [[Assyria]] (&nbsp;Isaiah 20:3-6). It subsequently fell under the control of Babylon, and then under the control of [[Persia]] (&nbsp;Esther 1:1). </p> <p> In pre-New Testament times, Ethiopia was one of the many countries where [[Jews]] settled and established communities. Some Ethiopians attended the [[Jewish]] synagogues and became worshippers of the God of Israel (see &nbsp;DISPERSION; &nbsp;PROSELYTE). One of these worshippers of God, or ‘God-fearers’, was among the first non-Jewish people to become [[Christians]] in the time of the early church (&nbsp;Acts 8:27-38). </p>

&nbsp;Genesis 2:13&nbsp; Isaiah 11:11[[Cush]] <p> The biblical Ethiopia should not be confused with the modern nation of the same name somewhat further to the southeast. In biblical times, Ethiopia was equivalent to Nubia, the region beyond the first cataract of the Nile south, or upstream, of Egypt. This region, with an abundance of natural resources, was known to the [[Egyptians]] as Cush and was occupied by them during periods of Egyptian strength. During the New [[Kingdom]] (1550-1070 B.C.), Ethiopia was totally incorporated into the Egyptian [[Empire]] and ruled through an official called the “viceroy of Cush.” </p> <p> When Egyptian power waned, Nubia became independent under a line of rulers who imitated Egyptian culture. When Egypt fell into a period of chaos about 725 B.C., Nubian kings extended their influence northward. In 715 B.C., they succeeded in establishing control over all of Egypt and ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. The most influential of these Ethiopian pharaohs was Taharqa (biblical Tirhakah), who rendered aid to [[Hezekiah]] of Judah during the Assyrian invasion of Sennacherib in 701 B.C. (&nbsp;2 Kings 19:9; &nbsp;Isaiah 37:9 ). </p> <p> The Assyrian Empire invaded Egypt in 671 B.C., driving the Ethiopian pharaohs southward and eventually sacking the Egyptian capital Thebes (biblical No-Amon; &nbsp;Nahum 3:8 ) in 664 B.C. Thereafter, the realm of Ethiopian kings was confined to Nubia, which they ruled from Napata. Ethiopia continued to be an important political force and center of trade (&nbsp;Isaiah 45:14 ). Some time after 300 B.C., Napata was abandoned and the capital moved further south to Meroe, where the kingdom continued for another six hundred years. Excavations in Nubia have revealed numerous pyramid tombs at Napata and Meroe as well as several temples to the Egyptian god Amun. </p> <p> In New Testament times, several queens of the kingdom of Meroe bore the title Candace. The Ethiopian eunuch to whom [[Philip]] explained the gospel was a minister of “the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians” (&nbsp;Acts 8:27 RSV). Candace should be understood as a title rather than a personal name. </p> <p> Daniel C. Browning, Jr. </p>

<p> &nbsp;Ethio'pia. &nbsp;(burnt faces). The country which the [[Greeks]] and Romans described as &nbsp;"Aethiopia" and the Hebrews as &nbsp;"Cush", lay to the south of Egypt, and embraced, in its most extended sense, the modern Nubia, Sennaar, [[Kordofan]] and northern Abyssinia, and in its more definite sense, the kingdom of Meroe. &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10. </p> <p> The Hebrews do not appear to have had much practical acquaintance with Ethiopia itself, though the Ethiopians were well known to them through their intercourse with Egypt. The inhabitants of Ethiopia were a Hamitic race. &nbsp;Genesis 10:6. They were divided into various tribes, of which the &nbsp;Sabeans were the most powerful. </p> <p> The history of Ethiopia is closely interwoven with that of Egypt. The two countries were not unfrequently united, under the rule of the same sovereign. [[Shortly]] before our Saviour's birth, a native dynasty of females, holding the official title of Candace, (Plin. Vi. 35), held sway in Ethiopia, and even resisted the advance of the [[Roman]] armies. One of these is the queen noticed in &nbsp;Acts 8:27. </p>

<p> One of the great kingdoms in Africa, sometimes called Cush in Scripture, from Cush, blackness. Blessed are the promises concerning the call of Ethiopia to the Lord, in the latter dispensations of the gospel. (&nbsp;&nbsp;Psalms 68:31; Psa 72:10-11; &nbsp;&nbsp;Isaiah 45:14) </p>

<p> See &nbsp;CUSH . </p>

<p> &nbsp;Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Ethiopia'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and [[Ecclesiastical]] Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/e/ethiopia.html. [[Harper]] & Brothers. New York. 1870. </p>