'''Kush''' or '''Cush''' was a civilization centered in the [[North Africa]]n region of [[Nubia]], located in what is today northern [[Sudan]]. One of the earliest civilizations to develop in the [[Nile]] River Valley, Kushite states rose to power before a period of Egyptian incursion into the area. Cushite or Kushite culture greatly influenced [[Ancient Egypt]]. See note on Genesis 2:13. There was also an ancient city of Kish 8 miles east of Babylon. Other ancient sources also indicate that it was to the east of the Holy Land (cf. Yov'loth 9:1). The Targum however, renders it as Arabia (Targum Yonathan; Targum on 1 Chronicles 1:8). This, however, may also have referred to an area in Africa on the upper Nile (cf. Herodotus 2:19). Josephus identifies Cush here with Ethiopia.