Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 43:3

"For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead." — Isaiah 43:3 (ASV)

I gave Egypt for thy ransom ... —Speaking after the manner of men, the prophet paints Jehovah as surrendering Egypt and other kingdoms to the arms of Cyrus, as if they were a price paid to him for liberating the Jews of Babylon. Ethiopia (Hebrew, Cûsh) may refer to either the Asiatic or African people who bore that name—Seba as Meroe, between the Blue and White Nile, the modern Dâr Sennâr. Historically, these words find their fulfillment in the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses, who carried out his father’s plans. For the concept of the “ransom,” compare Proverbs 11:8; Proverbs 21:18, and the following verse. As a man would sacrifice any number of slaves to ransom a son, so was it in Jehovah’s dealings with His people.