For tradition holds that one of the three wise men that came to visit and pay homage to the infant Christ, was a king of Ethiopia. And most famously Ethiopia is mentioned in Psalms 68:31 where it states that, “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” This Old Testament prophecy concerning Ethiopia was partially fulfilled during the birth of Jesus Christ. The Lord speaking through prophet Amos said, “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel?” (Amos 9:7). For example, the prophet Jeremiah was released from his imprisonment in a mirey pit through the efforts of an Ethiopian eunuch named Ebed-melech, (see Jeremiah 38).
Returning to the Bible we see that Ethiopia is included within the writings of the prophets, and is also found in the Psalms of King David. As events transpired the Ark of the Covenant ended up in Ethiopia and is believed to reside there to this very day in the holy city of Aksum, in the Church of St. So Azariah, the son of Zadok the priest, made a replica of the Ark and exchanged it for the true Ark which was in the Holy of Holies. Unfortunately many of the nobles of Israel were saddened that they would have to leave Jerusalem and the Temple that housed the Ark of the Covenant. Solomon greeted him with joy and sent Levites to go back with Menelik, so that the worship of the One True God would be established in Ethiopia. When Menelik came of age he too traveled to Jerusalem in search of King Solomon, his own father. For previously the Queen of Sheba and her people worshiped the sun, moon, and stars and even the serpent.Īs the legend unfolds, the Queen of Sheba gave birth to Solomon’s son and named him Menelik. Ultimately a son would be born from the relationship between Solomon and Sheba and the worship of the One True God would be brought back to Ethiopia on the Queen’s return from Jerusalem. Now Solomon was a lover of women and the king desired the queen and seduced Makeda during her stay. When the Queen finally arrived in Jerusalem she was dumbstruck by the wisdom of Solomon. She came with many gifts for Solomon along with a great company of camels and servants. Finally the most detailed account of The Queen of Sheba is found in the Ethiopian holy book the Kebra Nagast.įrom the text of the Kebra Nagast, Queen Makeda went to visit King Solomon in order to test his wisdom and to see for herself the riches and magnificence of his kingdom. In the New Testament Christ Himself refers to her as the Queen of the South in Matthew 12:42 and again in Luke 11:31. In the Old Testament her story is found in I Kings chapter 10, and II Chronicles chapter 9. The Queen is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Because of her ties to the Sabaeans she was given the title the Queen of Sheba and also the Queen of Aksum: the ancient capital of Ethiopia. The Queen ruled over parts of Ethiopia such as Aksum and also portions of Southern Arabia in Sabaea, which is in modern day Yemen. It is believed that the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) lived in the 10 th century BC. Though the Ethiopian eunuch knew little of Jesus Christ at that moment, the knowledge of the One True God of Israel had been introduced into Ethiopia going as far back into antiquity as to the reign of King Solomon and to his visitor the Queen of Sheba. Ethiopia is mentioned 37 times in the Old Testament, and once in the New Testament where the Apostle Phillip baptizes an Ethiopian eunuch who was a servant of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. So Biblically speaking we see that Ethiopia is as old as the creation of the earth. The Bible states that one of the four rivers that flowed from Eden was called the, “Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.” (Genesis 2:13).
Ethiopia is first mentioned in the Bible after God planted the Garden of Eden. The history of Ethiopia and her relationship to the Bible goes as far back to the writing of the Bible itself.
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