Ethiopia

Ethiopia (etymologically, the land of "burnt faces"), called in Hebrew Cash, was a name used with differing signification in ancient times. It was sometimes applied to the regions of both Africa and Asia; at others, to the country south of Egypt and Libya from the Red Sea to the Ocean; and again to modern Nubia and Abyssinia - its capital being Meroe. There appear to have been many peoples and divisions. The language - called Geez - seems to have been a Semitic tongue, akin to Arabic, but having peculiarities of its own. This is no longer a spoken language, but exists in literature and in the Church, there being translations of the Bible and of certain uncanonical books. Christianity is supposed to have been introduced in the 4th century, and Dr. Wolff, the missionary, had some curious theories as to a Jewish element in Abyssinian Christianity dating from the time of King David. The country is spoken of in the Bible in connection with Egypt, and at times exerted a powerful influence upon Jewish history. Candace, Queen of Ethiopia, is mentioned in the New Testament. Some have thought that Egypt derived its civilisation in a great measure from Ethiopia; but modern researches go to prove that the tide of civilisation set the other way.