The Empires of the Bible from the Confusion of Tongues to the Babylonian Captivity

CUSH

2. The land of Cush is Ethiopia. “Of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Chus; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day, both of themselves, and by all men in Asia, called the Chusites.”—Josephus. ¹ “The word Cush is, in the Authoirzed Version, for the most part translated by Ethiopia.” This is also the translation in the Vulgate and the Septuagint, and “by almost all other versions, ancient and modern. The German translation of Luther has Mohrenland, which is equivalent to Negroland, or the country of the blacks.” ² Ethiopia lay immediately south of Egypt, but with no definite limits. Abyssinia and the Soudan are the modern names of portions of it. Herodotus says of it: “Where the south declines toward the setting sun, lies the country called Ethiopia, the last inhabited land in that direction. There gold is obtained in great plenty, huge elephants abound, with wild trees of all sorts, and ebony; and the men are taller, handsomer, and longer-lived than anywhere else.” ³ And in another place he says of them, “The Ethiopians ... are said to be the tallest and handsomest men in the whole world.” ⁴ This agrees with Isaiah 45:14: “The labor of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine.” EB 24.2

3. As the children of Ham settled in clusters, it will be most convenient to consider each family in its full connection, before naming the next. Therefore we shall notice here in connection with their father,— EB 25.1