Season 2: Episode 43
Biblical Blackness: Cush, the “Curse of Ham,” and the Queen of Sheba
Date Aired: 11/30/2023
The Bible is largely silent about race. People are identified by their lands of origin and beliefs, not their skin color. Yet centuries of biblical interpreters have read race into the Bible, for good and for ill. As our guest Stacy Davis explains, the biblical land of Cush (sometimes translated as Ethiopia) has long been associated with black people, a point of pride for African and African-American Christians. And Josephus believed that the legendary Queen of Sheba was black. But the Bible has also been misused for racist purposes. In the 1800s, pro-slavery forces in America cited a convoluted reading of Gen 9 and 10 to justify the enslavement of black people under the so-called Curse of Ham.
Listen to the episode on the Biblical Time Machine website or wherever you get your podcasts.
Disclaimer: The Society of Biblical Literature is not responsible for the content of this podcast. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Society of Biblical Literature, its members, or its staff.
