The history of Ethiopia and her relationship to the Bible goes as far back to the writing of the Bible itself. Ethiopia is first mentioned in the Bible after God planted the Garden of Eden. 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). So Biblically speaking we see that Ethiopia is as old as the creation of the earth. 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. 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.
It is believed that the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) lived in the 10th century BC. The Queen ruled over parts of Ethiopia such as Aksum and also portions of Southern Arabia in Sabaea, which is in modern day Yemen. 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 is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the Old Testament her story is found in I Kings chapter 10, and II Chronicles chapter 9. 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. Finally the most detailed account of The Queen of Sheba is found in the Ethiopian holy book the Kebra Nagast.
From 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. She came with many gifts for Solomon along with a great company of camels and servants. When the Queen finally arrived in Jerusalem she was dumbstruck by the wisdom of Solomon. Now Solomon was a lover of women and the king desired the queen and seduced Makeda during her stay. 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. For previously the Queen of Sheba and her people worshiped the sun, moon, and stars and even the serpent.
As the legend unfolds, the Queen of Sheba gave birth to Solomon’s son and named him Menelik. When Menelik came of age he too traveled to Jerusalem in search of King Solomon, his own father. 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. 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. 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. 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. Mary of Zion.
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. 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). The Lord speaking through prophet Amos said, “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel?” (Amos 9:7). 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. 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.
The introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia was first made by the eunuch of Queen Candace, but it would be during the reign of King Ezana a couple centuries afterwards that Christianity would take hold. King Ezana (320-356 AD), was the first African king who became Christian and made Christianity the official religion of his empire. Though the Ethiopian king Ezana adopted Christianity, the credit of bringing the Faith of Jesus to the Kingdom of Aksum goes to St. Frumentius, a Syro-Phoenician Greek born in Tyre. Frumentius traveled to Alexandria, Egypt where he appealed to have a bishop appointed and missionary priests sent south to Aksum. Thereafter, he was appointed bishop and established the Church in Ethiopia, and converted many local people, including the king.
Over the course of a couple centuries Christian Ethiopia relatively flourished, but by the eighth century the Aksumite kingdom had lost its holdings in Southern Arabia. The reason being was that of the aggressive Muslims who at this time occupied the Ethiopian coast. As a result of the hostilities of the Muslims, Christian Ethiopia became isolated from the rest of the world. Due to being cut off from other Christian nations, the Aksumite Empire had no other choice than to establish ties with Islam. However, even though the Ethiopian king Armah granted Muslim refugees asylum in Ethiopia, and even after Mohammad himself told his followers to maintain a positive relationship with Ethiopia, the Muslims still attempted to eliminate Christianity in Ethiopia and from off the face of the earth.
The decline of Aksum was followed by a new dynasty known as the Zagwe’. The Zagwe’ period lasted from about 1137 to 1270 AD. The best known of the Zagwe’ rulers was King Lalibela, who famously carved a network of churches out of solid rock. Lalibela’s life is legendary. As the story goes when Lalibela was an infant a swarm of bees hovered above his crib. Upon seeing this spectacle his mother took it as a sign that her son would grow up to be a great man. Thus he was named Lalibela, which means, ‘The bees recognize his sovereignty.’ In his youth Lalibela spent time in Jerusalem. On his return to Ethiopia he was inspired to recreate Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land in the Ethiopian town of Roha. All together king Lalibela excavated eleven rock-hewn monolithic churches. These churches were so fascinating that after the king’s death the area was renamed Lalibela in his honor.
After the reign of Lalibela the Zagwe’ dynasty began to decline, and ruler-ship of Ethiopia was restored to the Solomonic Dynasty, which traces its descent from the union of Solomon and Sheba. Tradition states that the Solomonic kings stretched all the way from the 10th century BC to the 20th century AD. The last king of Ethiopia was Emperor Haile Selassie I, who was crowned ‘King of Kings of Ethiopia,’ on 2 November 1930, at the cathedral of St. George in Addis Ababa. Before his coronation Selassie held the title of Ras Tafari, and as king he was also known as the Lion of Judah. Through the writings of the Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey, many blacks in Jamaica saw the crowing of a black king in the east to be none other than the second coming of Jesus Christ. However, in 1974 Ethiopia experienced a revolution, and a Marxist regime called the Derg arrested Selassie on 12 September. On 28 August 1975, it was reported that Selassie had died on August 27 due to complications of a prostate operation. After the Soviet backed government fell in 1991, Selassie’s bones were found in 1992. In the year 2000, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church held a funeral for the deceased Emperor. To this day most Rastafarians do not accept Selassie’s death, but believe that His Majesty simply disappeared.
In conclusion, from the Garden of Eden, to the Queen of Sheba, and even up to modern times, Ethiopia is the sign and the seal of Biblical persons, places, and kingdoms. The rich culture of a Christian and Jewish heritage as well as its many legends, have made Ethiopia a mystical land. With the Queen of Sheba accepting the God of Israel and King Ezana establishing Christianity, the prophecy that Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her hands unto God has indeed been fulfilled.
References:
Archbishop Yesehaq. The Ethiopian Tewahedo Church. (Nashville, Tennessee: James C. Winston Publishing Company, Inc., 1997).
Brooks, M.F. Kebra Nagast. (Kingston, Jamaica: LMH Publishing Limited, 2001).
Pankhurst, R. The Ethiopians a History. (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1998).
Ullendorff, E. Ethiopia and the Bible. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc., 1968).