Afia Africa
THE JEWISH ENC"YC'LOPEDIA
226
matters, Jost'plius. uiid Jerome, nil interpret Phut as referring to Liliya (I)illnmnu, " Die Genesis," p. 178), from wliieli it may be assumed that Extent of the Bil)li(al writers included in their perspective also that j>;re!it expanse of Africa. territory west of K.!,'ypt called Lil)ya. liy which name ancient writers often desii,niate the whole of Africa. Authors like Herodotus were imac(|uainted with any African countries to the west of Slime, indeed, have endeavored to explain Lilpya. the Hiblical Havilah as an African region; and Josephus ("Ant." i. (i. ^ 1) even identities it with the land of the (ia-luli, which view is also held by the medieval chniniilcr .leralimecl ("Jew. Quart. Kev." .i. GT,"); (taster, "Clironiclcs of Jcrahnied." IISD'.I. p. Till' lanil of the (J.eluli is placed by the ancients 68). on the borders of the Sahara (Sallust, "Belbmi Jn^nrtlnc," xix. 11 ); though it is scarcely probable that writers who do not appear to have known even the western coast of North Africa should have been acquainted with an interior country south of ancient Is'umidia, now Algeria. The Old Testament takes no cognizance of the negro race, though Jer. xiii. 215 may be considered a (lassing reference to a darkskiiHied peol)le. C'nsh refers only to Ethiojiia. and then; exists no ground for assuming that the liiblical writers had a more extended knowledge of the African continent. All other Hiblical names that have been supposed to apply to individual [larls of Africa belong to the realm of myth. The term' " Sofala " for the east coast of Africa is
of the same origin as the Hebrew npQC (xlicfdiih). or coastland (Winer, "I!. K." :id ed.. s.i "Opliir"). but the assert inn that the liiblical g(ild-produ<-ing Ophir is to be located in that i-eginn is uilerly without foundation. This semifabulons land has been located with
Mo/ambiipieand Zambesia. The that Tunis is the Biblical Other Bib- Tarshish is erroneous, and was long lical Iden- ago refuted by Abraham Zacuto (" YuNevtiflcations. basin." p. 2:514. London. 18,')7).
more justification
in
statemi'iit
ertheless, it is the serious opinion of Zacuto that Epher (Gen. xxv. 4) gave his name to the coiiliiii'iil when, as Zacuto thinks, the chililren of Kelurah migi-.Ueil thilher(" Vuhasin." |). 2;5;S/'). This is also he opinion of the Arabian Ibn Idris(Kapo])iirt. "'Erek .Millin." ]>. IS4). Benjamin of Tudela. a noted traveler of the twelfth century, considered Tuids the same as Ilanes (Isa. xxx. 4). and also i<lentilieil the iniidern Damiclta with the Biblical Caphlor. According to li'gend. the city Sabta (XHiD) "as built by Sliem, the s(in of Nnali. anil it is even related that Joab. the genenil of David, reached il ("Vuhasin." Israi-1 ben Joseph Benjamin, a traveler of p. 'J2I!</). more recent tinies.whosodescriptionsof variouscountries were written in French. German, and English, and tnuislated into Hebri'W by David Gordon (" Mase V Israel " Israel's Travels], p. 1(19. Lyck. lH."ill), relati'Sthe sjime legend, but docs not mention " In a giugraphical work by .braham the " Ynliasin Faris.sol. " lirgeret Irhnt '( )lani " (Ijtier on the Ways of the Wiirldl. fols IS and Ito. even panidise is sjiid to have been situated in the Mountains of the Moon, in Nubia (Znnz. "(JeoLrniphiselic I.ileratur der Juden," in "Gesjunmelte Sehriften." i. IT!'. Merlin. lH7."i). Without doubt ICgypI is. hisiorieally. the most imI
|
(
portant of the countries of .Vfriea. Indeed, il wascimsidered by the ancients as belonging miller to .sia than to .friiii. and was. ^f?ypt. with Palestine. be classic land of Jewish history. Eorcenluriesaii iinporlant historic connection evisti'd bel Ween the land of the Israelites and the kingdom of the I'haianhs, a connection which I
the tablets discovered in 1887 at Tell cl-Amarna have established beyond the possibility of doubt. When the national life of Israel in Palestine ceased, an important section of the people, carrying with them the pr.iphet Jeremiah, wandered back to Egypt. Thus, for the second time. Egypt became the home of the Jewish race, and much of later Jewish history was made upon its soil. To what importance the Jews allaincd here can best be inferred from legeud.s concerning them, originating in other lountries. Aa Elliio]iic apocryphal book contains a legend respecting Jeremiah which narrates that, in answer to a prayer of the prophet, the reptiles of the dry land anil the crocodiles of the rivers were exterminated (H. Basset. " I,es Ajiocrviilics Etliiopieiis." i. 2."). Paris, ISiCi; and also "Chrou. Paseliale." ed. Dindorf, i. 293; Suidas. underthe word 'ii)n/ai). According to, Jewish legend siniihir blessings
descended upon Egypt
the advent in the land of the patriarch .laeob (.Midrash Tanl.iuma on Gen. Ixvii. lU. ([Uoteil by Kashi). native legend declares also that, previous to the arrival of .losepli, the sou of Jacob, the present province of Fayum was covered liy a great lake, which received its water from the Nile, but that Joseph drained it and turned it into a diy jilaiii (Bal.ir Yusufs; Hitter. "Erdkuude," part i.," " Afrika," p. 804, at
A
Berlin. 1822).
In ancient times the ice for the
Jews performed
Egyptians; Aristeas,
Jewish
military servletter of
according to the
King Psammetichus,
])rob-
second of the name, employed .Icwish mercenaries in a war against ably
Soldiers in Egypt,
for,
the
the IClhiopians, and it is reiiorled that these Hebrew soldiers dislinguished
themselves by their courage. Even more remarkis the legend recoiuited by .losephus ("Ant." lb, s; 2), according to which .Moses him.self was ii. an Egyptian general, and conducted a successful invasion of Ethiopia (McroeV). The Hebrew Josephus (Josi|)poii. i. chap, ii.), indeed, rejiortsthat Zepho, son of Eliphaz. son of E.sjui. who was brought to Egypt as a captive by the viceroy Josejili. escaiied thence to Carthage, where he wasa|)pointed general by King Angias. The source of this legend is not known, but it recalls the Talmudic legend (Yer. Shall, vi. able
that the Girgasliites went to Africa, a .statement based upon the fact that Carthage was colonizeil by Plieiiicians; hence from Canaan. Again Jerome, in "Onomastica Sacra." ed. Ijagardc, GiHtinStic),
gen. 1SS7. re|)resents Gergesanis as establishing colonies (i-iitiiionii (irtiiix). which story is undoubtedly based on the Talmudic legend. This recalls the inscription said by Procopius to have been found in Africa, wliieli describes Jo.shua as a robber, becau.se he coni|uered Canaan (see "J<'W. (Juart. Hev." iii. I!.'i4; Barker, "Supposed In.scriptiou upiui 'Joshua the Holiber.'" illustrated from Jewish sources). These wide spread legends are ample proof that the continent of Africa occupiei.1 an important place in the llioughts of Jews. The nit most imporlant land of Africa, from the point of view of Jewish history, is Cush (Ethiopia), the inliuence of whose king. Tirhakali. upon the history of Isnu'l in the days of Ethiopia. King Hezekiah is plaiidy dis<-eruible.
Aiiording to
II Cliron. xiv.
H
,t «•</.,
(he Ethiopian king Zerali invaded Juilah and advanced as tar as Maresliah; but the pa.ssage olTers many historical diDlcullies. . war of the Klhiopian king Kvknos with the Syrians and the Children of the East is di.scribed iii Valkut (Ex. is It>8. .Vii/) and in the Sefer ha-Yashar (on Ex. ii.). but the source of the legend is unknown. Ezekiel indicates Ethiopia as he bonier-laud of Egypt, and deslguates I
