Sudan in the Bible

Volume 3 1995

‘Sudan will quickly stretch out her hand to God.' Psalm 68:3 1

In the Bible, Sudan is also referred to as Cush, Nubia and Ethiopia. Often when the Bible mentions a place at the end of the world it would refer to Sudan (eg:Ps 87:4).

Moses’ second wife was from Cush (Numbers 12:1). 2 Kings 19:1 - 9 and Isaiah 37:1 - 10 relate how one of the Cushite Pharaohs, Tirhakah, intervened in Israel to assist King Hezekiah when he was attacked by Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria.

The prophecy in Isaiah 18 could well refer to Southern Sudan. It speaks of a land “beyond the rivers of Ethiopia” which worships the Lord God. They are described as “a nation tall and smooth of skin,” feared all over the world. The prophecy declares that there will be great bloodshed there and a spiritual revival. Many people believe it refers to the Zulus or the Afrikaners in South Africa, while others believe it accurately describes Southern Sudan.

In Zephaniah 3:10 a similar prophecy is given: “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, the daughters of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering.”

Nahum 3:9 describes how the Assyrians treated the Egyptian city of Thebes when the Cushites were defeated. Jer 38:7 - 13 describes how a Sudanese official, Eben-Malech, helped save Jeremiah from certain death in a dungeon.

Acts 8:26 - 40 relates how the evangelist Philip explained Isaiah 53 to an Ethiopian official, the treasurer, from the court of Queen Candace. The Sudanese kingdom of Cush ruled from Meroe from about 350BC to about 350AD. The conversion of the Ethiopian treasurer from the Kingdom of Meroe in 37AD marked the beginning of the Church in Sudan.

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