Ethiopia

Ee´thee-oh´pee-uh

or Nubia, the ancient name of the Nile Valley region between the first and second cataracts south of Aswan. The Hebrew term is Cush, which the KJV keeps. During the period of the Israelite monarchy, Ethiopia (Nubia) became the independent kingdom of Nabatea, which dominated Egypt. The Nubian ruler Taharka (NRSV: “Tirhakah”; 690–664 BCE) appears in Isa 37:9 as the ally of Hezekiah, despite protestations from the prophet Isaiah (Isa 18:1-2; Isa 20:1-6). In Acts 8:26-40 the Ethiopian eunuch was probably a high official in the court of “the Candace,” i.e., the queen mother.