Cushan
/ˈkʊʃ.ən/noun
A biblical place or people mentioned in Habakkuk 3:7, whose precise historical location is uncertain.
Did you know?Cushan appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, making it a rare biblical name whose identity remains unresolved rather than a securely identified kingdom.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Near East
Egyptian
Kush
“The name of the Nubian region south of Egypt; often proposed as the broader geographical association behind Cushan.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
כּוּשָׁן (Kûshān)
“A name or people mentioned in Habakkuk 3:7; the text does not clearly identify its location.”
3rd–1st Century BCE
Greek
Aithiopia / Chous
“Greek geographical traditions used related names for regions and peoples south of Egypt, but they do not establish Cushan’s exact identity.”
Late Antiquity
Latin
Cusan / Chus
“Latin biblical and geographical traditions transmitted forms connected with Cush, sometimes associating them with Ethiopia or Nubia.”
Modern English
English
Cushan
“A biblical proper name retained in English translations and scholarship, with its historical referent still debated.”