Are there any black men in the Bible?

Answer 1

Certainly the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 was black.

Answer

Queen of Sheba

Answer

Yes - many, although they are not mentioned as such. We can deduce, however, the colour of someone's skin in the Bible from where they came from. Throughout the Old Testament African nations like Egypt are mentioned frequently and would have involved many black people as immigrants from the south of Egypt - although for reasons above no specific mention is made of their colour. In the book of Acts, Philip baptises an Ethiopian - almost certainly black. Tradition has it that one of the Magi at Christ's birth was also black. The most famous incident, however, is that of Simon from Cyrene - who was almost certainly black if one considers his place of origin. He was drafted in to carry the cross of a broken Jesus Christ as he was forced to the place of his execution. After performing this most needed task, Simon once more disappears into obscurity, but his role in helping Our Lord in his greatest need has gone down in history.

Therefore there are no specific incidents of people described as black or white in the Bible because colour was not a particular issue. More of an issue was whether or not someone was a Jew or not (ie a Gentile). Gentiles were anyone, Greek, Roman, black, white, oriental or whatever, who was not a Jew. Paul makes it veryclear what a Christian response to race should be, in his letter to the Galatians (Chapter 3 verses 26-29):

"You are all children of God by believing in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ as if he were your clothes. There is no "Jew" nor "Gentile". There is no slave or free person. There is no male or female. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, you are all one. You who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed. You will receive what God has promised."

Thus all are created in God's image and all are equal. Anyone stating otherwise is going against God's will for humankind.
Queen of Sheba
Yes - many, although they are not mentioned as such as the tension between black and white is a recent thing (one episode dating from the shameful slave trade and through to the problems of racism and apartheid in the southern states of the USA, South Africa and so on).

We can deduce, however, the colour of someone's skin in the Bible from where they came from. Throughout the Old Testament African nations like Egypt are mentioned frequently and would have involved many black people as immigrants from the south of Egypt - although for reasons above no specific mention is made of their colour. In the book of Acts, Philip baptises an Ethiopian - almost certainly black. Tradition has it that one of the Magi at Christ's birth was also black. The most famous incident, however, is that of Simon from Cyrene - who was almost certainly black if one considers his place of origin. He was drafted in to carry the cross of a broken Jesus Christ as he was forced to the place of his execution. After performing this most needed task, Simon once more disappears into obscurity, but his role in helping Our Lord in his greatest need has gone down in history.

Therefore there are no specific incidents of people described as black or white in the Bible because colour was not a particular issue. More of an issue was whether or not someone was a Jew or not (ie a Gentile). Gentiles were anyone, Greek, Roman, black, white, oriental or whatever, who was not a Jew. Paul makes it veryclear what a Christian response to race should be, in his letter to the Galatians (Chapter 3 verses 26-29):

"You are all children of God by believing in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ as if he were your clothes. There is no "Jew" nor "Gentile". There is no slave or free person. There is no male or female. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, you are all one. You who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed. You will receive what God has promised."

Thus all are created in God's image and all are equal. Anyone stating otherwise is going against God's will for humankind.

The curse of cain did not fall on the black race or the so called curse of ham. The bible actualy describe the hebrews as being like the ethiopians in Amos 9:7

Also Song of songs 1:5 Solomon says verbatim that he was black and uses the tents of kedar as the description which is dark black. It was an ethiopian that helped jeremiah. and why would he be serving in the Kings house. Hint the land of cush had a relationship with the country by Queen of sheba. Zephiniah 3:9 "From beyond the rivers of ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering..." God call them the duaghter of his dispersed!!!

Answer 2

There are several characters in The Bible that were probably black; such as the Queen of Sheba, and the Ethiopian Eunuch; possibly others as well....

Answer.

When Cain rebelled against God and went to join Satan, God banished him from his presence. Cain asked God what should he do for he would be killed by his brethren. God put a mark upon Cain so that others would not harm him. This mark was that of a black skin.

When God flooded the earth in the time of Noah, Noah took with him his three sons and their wives. Ham, one of Noahs sons was married to a descendant of Cain, she carried the curse of a black skin. Her name was Egyptus and it was their daughter who founded the land of Egypt.

Answer 3

The Ethiopian Eunich

The story of the Ethiopian Eunich is found in Acts 8:26-39. Verses 26-29 tell us, "And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot."

We see from verse 27 that this man was an important government official in the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. We also see that the man was one who loved reading God's word. We don't know why he had a copy of Isaiah, but we know that God brought him to this passage to show him the way of eternal life. Notice how God brought these two men together. From a social class viewpoint Philip was from the lower class whereas the Ethiopian was an important government official. Racially, Philip was Greek whereas the Eunich was African. But neither man saw these distinctions in each other. All they saw was another person seeking the things of God. And they joined together, rich and poor, white and black, to share the good news of God's message. God used Philip to lead the Eunich into an encounter with Christ. I wonder how many Ethiopians heard the gospel message because of this one man's testimony?

Simon of Cyrene

Mark 15:21 tells us the first part of the story of Simon, "And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross." We know very little about Simon. We see from this verse that he had come from the country to Jerusalem on this occasion, perhaps on business. He must have been a strong man. I don't think the soldiers would have picked a weakling. God had appointed him to be there, not to help Jesus with the cross, but to encounter the one who was to be crucified for his sins. Except for Mark's obscure reference to Rufus and Alexander we would have no more information about Simon.

Rufus in Rome

It is in Romans 16:13 that we have Paul's reference to Rufus, "Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." According to the patristic writing of the second century the gospel of Mark was written for the Roman Christians. If this is true, it would make sense that Mark would identify Simon of Cyrene as the father of Rufus and Alexander, two men that the Roman Christians would know. None of the other gospel writers include the names of the sons. So perhaps the Rufus that Paul greets is the same Rufus that Mark writes about. It is a good possibility. So I'm going to include Rufus in our list of black men in the Bible. This reference tells us about Rufus and it also tells us more about Simon.

Paul emphasizes that Rufus is chosen in the Lord in Romans 16:13. Rufus must have been a willing follower of Christ. But this also tells us that Simon not only accepted Christ as his Savior, but he passed on the gospel message to his sons.

Lucius of Cyrene and Simeon called Niger

The church at Antioch became the hub of missionary movement. It grew to become an important center in the early church history. It was the headquarters of Paul and Barnabas. But the way it started is a real lesson in how God uses different men for different purposes to accomplish his work. It was after the stoning of Stephen that the early church was scattered. Acts 11:20 tells us, "And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus." This was something different. Notice it says they spoke to the Grecians. Before this the Christians who were scattered proclaimed Christ only to the Jews living in the city. But these men from Cypress and Cyrene proclaimed the gospel message to the non-Jews. Who were these anonymous men? Later on we find the church is built up and Paul and Barnabas have joined the work. And then it mentions two black men that must have been part of the group that first preached in Antioch. Simeon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene. The word "Niger" means "black." Long before Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch God had raised up these two black believers to build the church.

Ebedmelech

Jeremiah had been cast into a dungeon to die. In Jeremiah 38:7-12, and 39:16-18 is told the story of how Ebedmelech petitioned the king and took men to rescue Jeremiah. He was not willing to stay back. He was willing to get involved in this great injustice. In Jeremiah 39:18 God tells Ebedmelech, "As a reward for trusting me, I will preserve your life and keep you safe."

Solomon's Bride

It is most difficult to determine if this person was from African descent or not. The reason is that the Song of Solomon is a love poem. Song of Solomon 1:5 says, "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." But naturally this is poetic language as is the next verse which describes how she is dark. In her favor is the fact that Solomon uses the uniqueness of her skin color as a point of beauty to him, and the Hebrew word he uses here is shachar which does mean black. So if one of Solomon's brides were black, you would have to say that she received one of the highest honors of all time because the Song of Solomon is considered one the most beautiful love poems of all ages.

Moses' Ethiopian Wife

In Numbers 12 we have an interesting thing take place. Verse 1 tells us Moses married an Ethiopian woman. Both Moses' brother Aaron and sister Miriam spoke out against this woman. Perhaps this is the first example of racial prejudice. But, Aaron and Miriam could have been upset with their brother for marrying a non-Jew, and race may not have been a consideration. We don't know. The passage of scripture is not clear why they didn't like her.

The interesting thing about this story is that God took the side of the Ethiopian woman. The woman was apparently a believer, so any criticism they had against her would be unjustified. In God's kingdom, he doesn't want to see his children fighting over things that are so unimportant.

Answer 4

Being unconcerned with skin colour, but very concerned with tribalism and nationality, the bible refers not to the colour of the person's skin, but to what tribe or nation they belong.

Ethiopians are black people

1. Num 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2. 2 Chr 14:9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.
3. Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
4. Jer 38:7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
5. Jer 38:10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
6. Jer 38:12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
7. Jer 39:16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

1. 2 Chr 12:3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.
2. 2 Chr 14:12 So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
3. 2 Chr 14:13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.
4. 2 Chr 16:8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.
5. 2 Chr 21:16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians:
6. Isa 20:4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
7. Jer 46:9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
8. Eze 30:9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
9. Dan 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
10. Amo 9:7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? Saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
11. Zep 2:12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
12. Act 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Note also that the narrator of the Song of Solomon is black

1. Son 1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

Answer 5

Yes, the sons of Ham; the hewers of wood and the haulers of water.

Answer 6

Ethiopians had trade with Solomon in the Old Testament. Philip explains Isaiah to an Ethiopian in the New Testament.

Answer 7

Yes, there are many. The most famous was Bathsheba (bat sheva, בת שבע), a wife of King David.