Cush / Ethiopia

Meaning and Etymology
Person. The word Cush means black. Biblically, Cush is the son of Ham and father of Nimrod. He is considered the ancestor of the dark-skinned people that occupied Ethiopia. His name is often associated with Ethiopia but there are some who are still sceptical about it.  Cush first appears on the Biblical Timeline after the Flood

Place. In the Old Testament, Cush usually refers to the countries in the south where the children of Cush, Ham’s son lived. Many assumed that Cush consisted of Arabia and the country of the west coast of the Red Sea since it was linked with the southern limit of Egypt. It’s associated with Elam, Persia and the Sabeans. However, there are some indications that Cush also existed in Africa or Ethiopia.

Ethiopia. Ethiopia, situated at the Horn of Africa is a landlocked country bordered by Sudan on the west, Somalia and Djibouti on the east, Kenya on the south, and Eritrea on the north. Today, Ethiopia is known as Nubia and Abyssinia. But until now, questions regarding the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea and even the exact location of the boundary along Sudan have not been settled.

Ethiopia: the Modern Cush

Ethiopia, a largely pastoral society has suffered drought since 1969. The persistent dry weather resulted in famine, hunger, and death. An aerial map showed the eastern part of the country dry with drought while the western half looked green with crops flourished by rain. On February 2011, there were reportedly areas in Ethiopia asking for assistance because of the lack of rain, a state predicted to continue until the arrival of rainy season on October. A supply of water was sent by trucks. In a settlement area at the north of Dire Dawa town, one of the most affected by drought, people can’t stay outside where temperatures went beyond 104 F (40 degrees Celsius.)

Aside from famine, political problems, and war, the country has also faced large numbers of migrant refugees since the 1980s. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War from 1998-2000, because of disagreement over the border, badly affected the economy. And in March of 2011, thousands of Christians in the west of Ethiopia has to vacate their houses when the Muslim extremist group Kawarja burned their houses and churches. The Muslims occupied more than 30 percent of the total population, and in a country where Muslims and Christians used to live together in harmony, the increasing incidents of anti-Christian aggression is quite disturbing. And with all that, a small area of the country is faced with hundreds of Eritreans refugees. Around 800-1000 Eritrean refugees arrive every month, greatly surpassing the existing resources of Ethiopia for refugees.

What Part of the Bible Mentions Cush?

• Genesis 10:6, 1 Chronicles 1:8. Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan as the descendants of Ham.
• 1 Chronicles 1:10. Cush as the father of the “mighty warrior”, Nimrod.
• Numbers 12:1. Moses married a Cushite woman.
• Jeremiah 46:9. The armies of Cush and Phut handling the shield.
• Psalm 68:31. Cush “bow in submission to God”.
• Genesis 2:13. The River Gihon flowing through  and around the land of Cush.
• Isaiah 11:11. Cush as one of the nations where Lord recovered the “remnant of his people”.
• Isaiah 45:14. Cush associated with the Sabeans.
• Ezekiel 29:10. Cush was located at the south border of Egypt.
• Ezekiel 38:5. Cush and Phut supported Gog.
• Esther 1:1. King Xerxes ruled the provinces from India to Cush.
• Isaiah 20:4. The King of Assyria disgraced Egypt by exposing the buttocks of the “Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles”.
• Nahum 3:9. Phut and the Libyans allied along with Cush and Egpyt.
• Jeremiah 46:9. Cush and Phut supported Egypt.
• Ezekiel 30:5. Cush and Phut supported Egypt.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ethiopia

http://socyberty.com/history/geography-of-kush-egypt-and-canaan/

http://www.angelfire.com/ill/hebrewisrael/printpages/phys.html

http://countrystudies.us/ethiopia/46.htm

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=882&letter=A

http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/cush.html

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionaries/dict_meaning.php?source=1&wid=T0000943

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/24/thousands-christians-displaced-ethiopia-muslim-extremists-torch-churches-homes-2057387870/

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/young-eritreans-in-ethiopia-face-future-in-limbo

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38224&Cr=ethiopia&Cr1

http://sahelblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/ethiopian-drought-and-the-future-of-african-pastoralism/