A country south of Egypt; approximately equivalent to Cush.
About Ethiopia
The Bible uses two different names for the land south of Egypt. In the Old Testament, Ethiopia was called "Cush" (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8; Isaiah 11:11). "Cush" is the English spelling of the Hebrew word for this land. When the Bible was later translated into Greek, the translators used the name "Ethiopia" instead of "Cush."
However, they kept the name "Cush" when listing different groups of people in Genesis 10:6–8 and 1 Chronicles 1:8–10. Some English Bible translations follow this Greek pattern and use "Ethiopia" for the place and "Cush" when it is a personal name. Other English translations use "Cush" for both the place and the personal name, as well as "Cushite" for people living in the land (2 Samuel 18:21–23, 31–32).
Key References
So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
All Scripture References (18)
2 Samuel (2)
So Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.
Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!”
2 Chronicles (6)
with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled.
Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.
Then the LORD stirred against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and Arabs who lived near the Cushites.
Esther (2)
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush—writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
Job (1)
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
Jeremiah (5)
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.
Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,
“Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
Amos (1)
“Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?
Acts (1)
So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,