How many times is Ethiopia mentioned in the Bible?
The word Ethiopia appears 20 times in the King James Version, in 20 verses. It is found in 10 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Ethiopia 17 times (29 with every form).
The World English Bible often prints Cush where the KJV prints Ethiopia, so its column counts both Ethiopia and Cush.
Ethiopia in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Ethiopia counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Ethiopia | 20 | 17 |
| Cush | not counted | 12 |
| Total | 20 | 29 |
What the name Ethiopia means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Ethiopia as "blackness; heat".
This is the 1869 traditional meaning; modern scholars often read names differently.
See every name and place with its meaning and count on Bible names and their meanings.
Source: Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869), checked 2026-10-22.
First and last mention of Ethiopia
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 9 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 10:6: counted in the World English Bible only
And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
The sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
Genesis 10:7: counted in the World English Bible only
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
The sons of Cush were: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were: Sheba and Dedan.
Common questions
How many times is Ethiopia in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 19 of the 20 uses are in the Old Testament and 1 in the New Testament. Ethiopia appears in 10 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (6), then Ezekiel (4) and Esther (2).
Where is Ethiopia first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 2:13: "And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia." The last is Acts 8:27.
What does the name Ethiopia mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Ethiopia as "blackness; heat".
More word counts: Tarshish, Ophir, Haran, Joppa, Nebo, Hermon, Gilead, Edom, or all 484 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-22.