The Son of Ham and the Father of Ancient Empires
Cush is a foundational figure in the biblical narrative, appearing immediately after the Great Flood as one of the three grandsons of Noah. He is a key character in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10), serving as the patriarch from whom many nations, primarily in Northeast Africa, descended. His name is synonymous with the ancient regions known to the Hebrews as the lands of the upper Nile.
I. The Genealogy of Cush
Cush’s place in the lineage of humanity is fixed in the family of Noah, from whom all people descended after the Flood:
“The sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.” (Genesis 10:6, KJV)
Cush was the eldest son of Ham, the brother of Mizraim (ancestor of Egypt), Phut (ancestor of Libya/North Africa), and Canaan (ancestor of the peoples of the Levant). This placement defines the broad geographical area inhabited by his descendants as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
II. The Descendants and the Land of Cush
The sons of Cush became the founders of tribes and kingdoms across a vast and significant territory:
“And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.” (Genesis 10:7, KJV)
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the term “Cush” (or “Kush”) is almost universally used to refer to the region south of Egypt, corresponding primarily to Ancient Nubia or Ethiopia (using the classical Greek term for the region). This land spanned what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
- Geographical Importance: References to the Land of Cush often emphasize its remoteness and its location near the great rivers (Isaiah 18:1, KJV). It was a powerful, independent kingdom that had interactions, both friendly and hostile, with Israel and Egypt. The Hebrew use of “Cush” is distinct from the modern-day country of Ethiopia, though the territory overlaps the latter’s northern borders.
III. Nimrod: The Mighty Hunter and the First Tyrant
Cush is perhaps most famous for being the father of the world’s first documented empire-builder:
“And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” (Genesis 10:8-10, KJV)
Nimrod is a figure of immense prophetic significance, particularly for a study focused on The Global Religion of Self and the ultimate Antichrist Lie.
- The Foundation of Babylon: Nimrod established the foundational cities of the Mesopotamian region, including Babel (Babylon). This makes Cush, through Nimrod, the progenitor of the very system that has historically symbolized rebellion against God—the oppressive political and religious system that culminated in the Tower of Babel incident and is prophesied to return in the last days as the final, global Antichrist system (Revelation 17:5, KJV).
- A “Mighty One”: Nimrod’s power was not merely domestic; he “began to be a mighty one in the earth,” suggesting a tyrannical, dominant rule that set a precedent for human government rising in opposition to divine sovereignty.
IV. The Prophetic Role of Cush
Despite its associations with Nimrod and rebellion, the land of Cush is often mentioned in prophecy as a future participant in God’s redemptive plan, symbolizing the extent of the Gospel’s reach:
“Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia (Cush) shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” (Psalm 68:31, KJV)
The story of the Ethiopian eunuch, a man of authority from the land of Cush, being converted and baptized by Philip (Acts 8:27-39, KJV), serves as a clear New Testament fulfillment of this prophetic vision, demonstrating that the blessed hope is offered to peoples from the far reaches of the earth.
Cush, therefore, is a pivotal figure: the father of a vast African lineage and, through Nimrod, the indirect progenitor of the Babylonian system of rebellion—a dual heritage that frames the entire biblical narrative of human history and prophetic fulfillment.