Mazmur 68:31

68:31 They come with red cloth ¹  from Egypt,

Ethiopia ²  voluntarily offers tribute ³  to God.

Mazmur 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ⁴  and Babylon to my followers. ⁵ 

Here are ⁶  Philistia and Tyre, ⁷  along with Ethiopia. ⁸ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ⁹ 

Yehezkiel 29:10

29:10 I am against ¹⁰  you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol ¹¹  to Syene, ¹²  as far as the border with Ethiopia.

Zefanya 2:12

2:12 “You ¹³  Ethiopians ¹⁴  will also die by my sword!” ¹⁵ 

Zefanya 3:10

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ¹⁶ 

those who pray to me ¹⁷  will bring me tribute.

[68:31]  ¹ tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).

[68:31]  ² tn Heb “Cush.”

[68:31]  ³ tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).

[87:4]  ⁴ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ⁷ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[29:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

[29:10]  ¹¹ sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta which served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).

[29:10]  ¹² sn Syene is known today as Aswan.

[2:12]  ¹³ sn Though there is no formal introduction, these words are apparently spoken by the Lord (note my sword).

[2:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Cushites.” This is traditionally assumed to refer to people from the region south of Egypt, i.e., Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).

[2:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Also you Cushites, who lie dead by my sword.”

[3:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e. Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).

[3:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. Perhaps the text is corrupt at this point or a proper name should be understood. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.

[3:10]  sn It is not certain if those who pray to me refers to the converted nations or to God’s exiled covenant people.