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ETHIOPIA

(Gk. Aithiopia)

The ancient region S of Egypt and encompassing the entire area of modern Sudan. The northernmost point was close to the Egyptian town of Syene (Aswan), at the first cataract of the Nile River (Ezek. 29:10; Heb. kûš). Its southern boundaries extended to modern Ethiopia and Eritrea. On the west Ethiopia was limited by the vast desert. In its early days Ethiopia also embraced regions to the east of the Red Sea, and included some of the territory represented today by Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Homer Od. 1.22-23; Strabo Geog. 1.2.28; 2.3.8; Aeschylus Supp. 284-86). While the precise boundaries of ancient Ethiopia are disputed, it is generally agreed that after Herodotus and throughout the NT era Ethiopia referred to the territory directly S of Egypt and bordering the west bank of the Red Sea.

The Bible often mentions Ethiopia in conjunction with its closest neighbors, Egypt (Ps. 68:31[MT 32]; Isa. 20:3-5; Ezek. 30:4, 5; Dan. 11:43; Nah. 3:9) and Libya (2 Chr. 16:8; Ezek. 30:5; 38:5; Dan. 11:43; Nah. 3:9). Reference is also made to the rivers of Ethiopia (Isa. 18:1; Zeph. 3:10), which are commonly accepted as the White and the Blue Niles along with the Atbara. Ethiopia was rich in natural resources, and known for its wealth and trading (Job 28:19; Isa. 43:3; 45:14; Dan. 11:43; Diodorus Siculus Hist. 3.11.12).

The etymological root of Gk. Aithiopia, “burnt face,” describes the pigmentation of the people who were called Ethiopians. Consequently, not only does Ethiopia refer to a geographical territory, but it also indicates ethnicity (Jer. 13:23). Historians in the Greco-Roman world believed that Ethiopians were the first humans on earth (Diodorus 3.2.1-3). There were many subgroups among the Ethiopians, each with distinct cultural and physical characteristics (cf. Herodotus Hist. 7.70). The ancients reported that the tallest, handsomest, and fastest of humans could be found among them (cf. Isa. 18:2; Herodotus 3.20; 4.183). There was significant interaction between Ethiopia and other ancient cultures, and Ethiopians could be found throughout Europe and Asia. Other ethnic groups could also be found living in Ethiopia, and cultural influence is evidenced by the fact that many inhabitants of Ethiopia embraced the religion of Israel (Ps. 87:4; Isa. 11:11; Acts 8:27).

The Bible identifies Cush, the son of Ham, as the father of the Ethiopians (Gen. 10:6). Much of the history of Ethiopia intertwines with that of Egypt. Ethiopian influence was evident in Egypt from the Proto-dynastic Age (ca. 2900 b.c.e.). Ethiopia was eventually conquered by the Egyptian kings of the 12th Dynasty, but regained her independence during the Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1780-1550). Following independence, Ethiopia established her capital in Napata, near the 4th Nile cataract.

Egypt managed to regain control of Ethiopia during the New Kingdom (1500-1070). The extent of Egypt’s control over Ethiopia during this era is questionable, particularly in light of the biblical record of King Asa’s defeat of an independent Ethiopian army (2 Chr. 14:9-15[8-14]). Under the military leadership of Piankhy and Shabako, Ethiopia overpowered Egypt and initiated the 25th (Ethiopian) Dynasty (ca. 715-663). Taharqa (Tirhakah), the best-known king of the Ethiopian dynasty, was an ally of King Hezekiah of Judah in the war against Sennacherib and the Assyrians in 701 (2 Kgs. 19:9; Isa. 37:9). Indeed, it was the Assyrians who were responsible for the eventual demise of the Ethiopian dynasty following the sack of Thebes in 664.

The diminished Ethiopian kingdom established its seat of power in Meroe, and initiated a dynasty that was to last until the early Byzantine era (ca. 350 c.e.). While certain provinces may have been briefly subjected by Persia (Esth. 1:1; 8:9; Add. Esth. 13:1; 16:1), for most of this era Ethiopia maintained her independence. During the NT era, Merotic Ethiopia was ruled by a series of queens (Candaces). By the 1st century c.e. the prominence of Meroe was shared by Aksum, which had become the major commercial center in Ethiopia with its own prestigious dynasty. Several of the Aksumite kings were Christian.

Ethiopia is featured in a number of biblical prophecies. Isaiah speaks of judgment that is to come upon Ethiopia for her willingness to assist the rebellious Israel (Isa. 20:3-4). Ezekiel prophesies doom on Ethiopia, which together with Egypt is destined to receive punishment from Babylon (Ezek. 30:4, 5, 9); he further names Ethiopia among the allies of the defeated Gog (38:5). Zephaniah also heralds destruction on Ethiopia for her arrogance (Zeph. 2:12). But Ethiopia’s judgment is no different than Israel’s (Amos 9:7). In fact, the conversion of Ethiopia will allow her to share Israel’s blessings (Ps. 68:31[32]; Isa. 45:14; Zeph. 3:9-10).

Several biblical personalities are identified as Ethiopian: Zipporah, the wife of Moses (Num. 12:1; since she resided in Midian [Exod. 2:21], “Ethiopian” is probably a reference to her ethnicity); Cushi, the messenger from the Israelite army who brought the news of Absalom’s death to David (2 Sam. 18:21-23, 31-32); the queen of Sheba (1 Kgs. 10:1-10), also known as the queen of the South (Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31; the Kĕbrä Nägäst [“Glory of the Kings”], which allegedly contains the royal chronicles of the Ethiopian monarchy, records an unbroken line of rulers originating with Menelek I, the legendary son of Solomon and the queen of Sheba); Zerah, the Ethiopian king who was defeated by King Asa of Judah (2 Chr. 14:9); Tirhakah, the Ethiopian king who assisted Hezekiah against Assyria (Isa. 37:9); the prophet Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:1); Ebed-melech, the court official who rescued Jeremiah (Jer. 38:7-13; 39:15-17); Amantitere, the Merotic queen who held the title Kandake (Acts 8:27); the eunuch, an official representative of Candace, who was also an observant Jew and the first recorded Ethiopian Christian (Acts 8:27-40).

Bibliography. E. A. W. Budge, A History of Ethiopia, Nubia, and Abyssinia (1928, repr. Oosterhout, 1970); C. H. Felder, Troubling Biblical Waters (Maryknoll, 1989); A. H. M. Jones, A History of Ethiopia (Oxford, 1955); H. G. Marcus, A History of Ethiopia (Berkeley, 1994); F. M. Snowden, Blacks in Antiquity (Cambridge, Mass., 1970); E. Ullendorff, The Ethiopians, 3rd ed. (Oxford, 1973).

Keith A. Burton

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ETHIOPIA

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)