Blacks in Biblical Antiquity

Audience: Youth Individuals Adult Format: Web

The view of Africa that has evolved in recent centuries has little or no historical integrity
inasmuch as it reflects Eurocentric interpretations of the Bible. However, new light is shining
on biblical antiquity, and layers of unfavorable biases are being peeled away. In their place is
a more congenial basis for inclusiveness and reconciliation in conjunction with an emergence
of critical studies on the Black presence in the Bible and the recovering of ancient African
heritage in the Scriptures. Consequently, persons of African descent now have the opportunity
to rediscover consistent and favorable mentioning of their forebears within the pages of the
Bible.
The presence of Blacks in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible is rather substantial; fortunately
ours is an age that increasingly allows such an important fact to be acknowledged more
widely than perhaps ever before. This topic has long been studied by Dr. Gene Rice,
Professor of Old Testament, and he has supplied a representative listing of key Old Testament
passages that mention, indeed often celebrate, the Black biblical presence:

Nimrod, son of Cush, "the first on earth to become a mighty warrior." Nimrod is also
credited with founding and ruling the principal cities of Mesopotamia (Genesis 10:812).

Hagar, the Egyptian maid of Sarah (Genesis 16; 21:8-21). If Abraham had had his
way, Hagar would have become the forebear of the covenant people (Genesis 17:18).

Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis), wife of Joseph and mother

of Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 41:45, 51, 52; 46:20), whom Jacob claimed and
adopted. (Genesis 48).

Moses' Cushite wife (Numbers 12:1). She was prpbably Zipporah of the Kenite clan
of the Midianites (Exodus 2:21-23). If Moses' Cushite wife is indeed Zipporah, then
her father, Jethro, (also called Reuel), would also have been an African. Since Jethro
was the priest of Midian (Exodus 2:16; 3:1; 18:1) and the mountain of God where
Moses was called was located in Midian (Exodus 3:1; 18:5), and Jethro presided at a
meal where Aaron and the elders of Israel were guests (Exodus 18:12), the Kenites
may have been the original worshipers of God by the name of the LORD, that is
Yahweh (YHWH). Jethro also instructed Moses in the governance of the newly
liberated Israelites (Exodus 8:13-27).

Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron and a high priest (Exodus 6:25). The name,
Phinehas, is Egyptian and means literally, "The Nubian," or "The Dark-skinned One."

The "mixed multitude that accompanied the Israelites when they left Egypt
undoubtedly included various Africans and Asian peoples (Exodus 12:38).

The unnamed Cushite soldier in David's army. He bore the news of Absalom's death
to David, and, in contrast to Ahimaaz, had the courage to tell David the truth about
Absalom (2 Samuel 18:21, 31, 32).

Solomon's Egyptian wife. She was an Egyptian princess and by his marriage to her,
Solomon sealed an alliance with Egypt. (1 Kings 3:1; 11:1).

The Queen of Sheba. She ruled a kingdom that included territory in both Arabia and
Africa. When she visited Solomon, she was accorded the dignity and status of a head
of state (1 Kings 10:1-13).

Zerah, the Ethiopian. He commanded a military garrison at Gerar in SW Palestine and

fought against King Asa of Judah and almost defeated him (2 Chronicles 14:9-15).
After Egyptian influence ceased in Palestine, the Cushite soldiers stationed at Gerar
settled down and became farmers. Some two centuries after the time of Zerah, the
Simeonites took over Gerar "where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was
very broad, quiet, and peaceful; for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham" (2
Chronicles 4:40).

Cush, a Benjaminite (heading to Psalm 7). He is identified as Saul in the Talmud.

The Ethiopian ambassadors who came to Jerusalem to establish diplomatic relations

with Judah (Isaiah 18:1,2). They represented the Ethiopian Pharaoh, Shabaka (716702) of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.

The Ethiopian, Taharqa, spelled Tirhakah in the Bible. When Hezekiah revolted
against Assyria in 705 B.C., he did so with the support of Shaboka and Shebitku (702690), rulers of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Tirhakah led an army in support of
Judah during Hezekiah's revolt against Assyria (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). Tirhakah
later ruled Egypt from 690-664.

The Prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah's father was Cushi, his grandfather Gedaliah, his
great-grandfather Amariah, and his great-great-grandfather (King) Hezekiah
(Zephaniah 1:1). Zephaniah was active about 630 B.C. and sparked a religious revival
in Judah.

Jehudi ben Nathaniah ben Shlemiah ben Cushi. The context in Jeremiah 36 indicates
that Jehudi was a trusted member of the cabinet of King Jehoiakim of Judah (Jeremiah
36:14, 21, 23).

Ebed-melech ("Royal Servant"), the Ethiopian. He was an officer of King Zedekiah

who, at great risk to himself, saved Jeremiah's life (Jeremiah 38:7-13)., and was
blessed by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 39:15-18).

The African presence in the Bible is not limited to the Old Testament. Indeed many Jews of
the first century lived in regions where Africans intermingled freely with other racial and
ethnic types. We too easily forget today that miscegenation or interracial marriage was an
explicit part of Alexander the Great's policy; he wanted all subjects to have Greek blood
flowing through their veins! Of course there was no notion of the modern idea of "race"

during that time, but suffice it to say that the ancients had no problem with Black people nor
did the Greeks and Romans consider them to be inferior.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we find the quotation from Hosea 11:1 which reads, "out of Egypt
I called my son." The passage is part of the notorious "Flight into Egypt" that describes the
way in which Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to hide the one that King Herod feared would
displace him. Assuming that we can lend some historical credence to this report, it is difficult
imagining, if the holy family were indeed persons who looked like typical "Europeans," that
they could effectively "hide" in Africa. One must remember and take most seriously the fact
that Egypt has always been and remains part of Africa. Her indigenous people are noticeably
different from the European types, notwithstanding the Hellenistic cultural incursions,
beginning in earnest just over 300 B.C. In fact, it has only been in recent centuries that the
Egyptians and other North Americans have been officially racially classified as "Caucasian."
Nevertheless, for thousands of years, Africans have migrated out of biblical Ethiopia and
Egypt and have passed through Palestine en route to the Fertile Crescent or Mesopotamia.
Thus, the term Afro-Asiatic emerged, and it is a fitting description of persons from Abraham
to Jesus and his disciples.
For the most part by modern standards of ethnicity, first-century Jews could be considered
Afro-Asiatics. This is to say that Jesus, his family, his disciples and, doubtless, most of the
fellow Jews he encountered in his public ministry, were persons of color. They would
certainly not be Europeans. The point is made because it has become virtually axiomatic for
people today to envision that somehow the ancient people of the New Testament were all
Europeans. Without much reflection or critical analysis, people tend to project modern Jews
back into antiquity as if two thousand years of assimilation never occurred. Having
established this important interpretative principle, we can identify a few New Testament
passages where there is an explicit African presence.

Matthew 1:1-14 - The genealogy of Jesus, in which four Afro-Asiatic women are
included: Rahab, Tamar, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

Matthew 2:13-18 - Out of Egypt (Africa) have I called my son (see Hosea 11:1).

Matthew 12:42 - The Queen of the South, meaning "the Queen of Sheba" (parallel
reference in Luke 11:31; compare 1 Kings 10:1-10 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-9).

Matthew 27:32 - Simon of Cyrene compelled to carry the cross (parallel accounts in
Mark 15:21 and Luke 23:26).

Mark 1:3 - Note the mentioning of "the wilderness" or desert as a reminder of the
geographical context for the gospel and most of the biblical narratives.

Luke 13:29 - Luke instructs us through his more inclusive editing of Jesus' sayings
found in Matthew 8:11. Here, Luke adds "north and south," thereby underscoring the
Lukan universalism of both the gospel and the plan of salvation.

Luke 19:41-44 - Jesus weeps over the city and initiates change.

Acts 2:9-10 - The Jewish pilgrims gathered at Pentecost included persons of African
descent, notably the Elamites of Mesopotamia and those from Egypt, Libya, and
Cyrene.

Acts 8:26-40 - The Ethiopian Finance Minister on a mission for the Queen of the
Ethiopians, the Kandake or Candace; he is baptized as perhaps the first non-Jew (an
early tradition that rivals the baptism of Cornelius).

Acts 13:1 - Two of the four prophets and teachers at Antioch (where persons of the
Way were first called Christians--11:26) were Africans, namely Lucius of Cyrene and
Simeon who was called Niger, a Latinism for "the Black Man."

Acts 18:24,25 - Apollos, the Jew of Alexandria in North Africa, becomes converted (1
Corinthians 3).

John 4:7-39 - The Samaritan as ancient outcast and here a metaphor for victims of
racial, and ethnic, and gender bias today.

John 8:32 - "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Galatians 5:1 - "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not
submit again to a yoke of slavery."

1 Corinthians 3:11 - Apollos, the African Preacher (he was from Alexandria on the
Nile Delta.)

1 Corinthians 7:21c - Further evidence of Paul's dislike of slavery: "If you are able to
gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity" (2 Corinthians 11:20 and the
Epistle to Philemon).

James 2:1-8 - Outward appearances can lead to fraudulent judgments about people.
(Although James principally has in mind class distinctions, the principle supports a
wider application).

1 Peter 2:4-10 - Those who believe and do the will of God through humble service
and self-sacrifice are the "Chosen People" and the true "royal priesthood" and the
recipients of God's mercy. There is no racial or ethnic basis for divine election.

As the Holy Scriptures testify, all people of faith are "one in Christ Jesus" and "heirs
according to the promise" (Galatians 3:28,29). And as the apostle Paul stated, "From now on,
therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ
from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ,
there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All
this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry
of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting
their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us" (2
Corinthians 5:16-19). Thus, the Word of God shows itself to be a truly universal, inclusive,
and multicultural message of salvation for the human race.

BLACKS IN THE BIBLE

IQ QUIZ
ANSWERS
1) ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, WHAT COLOR DID GOD
CHANGE PEOPLES SKIN THAT DISPLEASED HIM?
GOD CHANGED IT WHITE WITH THE SKIN DISEASE
CALLED LEPROSY?
2) ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, WHAT IS THE
BIBLICAL COLOR OF SIN?
THOUGH OUR SINS BY AS SCARLET THEY SHALL BE AS WHITE
AS SNOW, THOUGH THEY BE RED LIKE CRIMSON, THEY
SHALL BE AS WOOL? RED IS THE BIBLICAL COLOR OF SIN.
3) WHAT BLACK MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES ON EARTH?
NIMROD RULED IN BABYLON WHERE THE TOWER OF
BABEL WAS BUILT IN IRAQ.
4) WHAT IS THE ONLY BOOK IN THE BIBLE THAT IS
DEDICATED TO A BLACK WOMAN?
THE ONLY BOOK OF THE BIBLE THAT IS DEDICATED TO A
BLACK WOMAN IS TITLED THE SONG OF SOLOMON, ALSO
CALLED THE SONG OF SONGS, OR CANTICLES, AND IT WAS
WRITTEN BY THE WISEST MAN IN THE WORLD.
5) ON WHAT CONTINENT WERE THE BABES JESUS AND
MOSES HIDDEN?
AFRICA
6) WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE FATHER OF BLACK RACES?

HAM, TO WHICH AMERICAN ATTRIBUTE TO THE FLESH OF THE

FILTHIEST CREATURE KNOWN TO MAN. PURCHASE BLACKS IN
THE BIBLE TO FIND ITS ORIGINAL MEANING.
7) WHAT COLOR WAS ADAM?
THE NAME ADAM MEANS RED MAN
8) WHAT BLACK WOMANS HUSBAND WROTE THE FIRST
FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE?
ZIPPORAH, THE ETHIOPIAN WIFE OF MOSES. "...MARRIED AN
ETHIOPIAN WOMAN." (NUMBERS 12:1)
9) AN EAST FLOWING RIVER EXITED EDEN AND
SURROUNDED WHAT AFRICAN COUNTRY?
"IT SURROUNDED THE WHOLE OF ETHIOPIA" MAKING EDEN
WEST OF ETHIOPIA AND NOT IN IRAQ AS EURO-CENTRIC
CHRISTIANITY SUGGESTS. (GENESIS 2:13)
10) WHEN ANTHROPOLOGISTS DIG FOR THE OLDEST BONES
OF MAN, DO THEY DIG IN IRAQ, WHERE EURO-CENTRIC
CHRISTIANITY PLACES EDEN, OR IN ETHIOPIA, THE LAND EAST
OF EDEN, WHERE BIBLE BASED CHRISTIANITY PLACES EDEN?
WHEN SCIENTIST DIG FOR THE OLDEST BONES OF MEN, THEY
SEEK THEM IN ETHIOPIA, THE LAND EAST OF EDEN, WHERE
ADAM AND EVE RESIDED WHEN CAST OUT OF EDEN EASTERN
SIDE, ALSO KNOWN AS THE LAND OF NOD. EDEN WAS NOT IN
IRAQ WHERE EURO-CENTRIC LORE INDICATES EDEN WAS.
(GENESIS 2:13) IRAQ IS WHERE THE WORLD BEGAN AT THE
TOWER OF BABEL AFTER THE GREAT FLOOD.
11) WHAT WAS THE FIRST NATION TO INSTITUTE SLAVERY
BASED ON RACISM?
EGYPT
12) WHO WAS THE ONLY OCCUPANT OF NOAH'S ARK TO LEAVE A
LEGACY NAMED AFTER HIMSELF?
HAM, FOR EGYPT WAS CALLED "THE LAND OF HAM" AND
AFTER HIS DEATH IT WAS NAMED AFTER HIS SON. YET NO

EGYPTOLOGIST DARES REVEALS THIS INFORMATION LEST

THEY BE REGARDED AS BELIEVING IN THE STORY OF NOAH'S
ARK, WHICH OUR MODERN ERA SPURNS.

Does the Bible mention any black people?

By: Steve Shirley
A: The Bible is pretty much silent when it comes to the color of a person's skin. God does
not look at outward appearances, he looks at a man's heart (1 Sam 16:7). All men are equal in
God's eyes (Acts 10:34)(Gal 3:28)(Rom 10:12)(Rom 2:11)(Eph 6:9)(Deut 10:17-19)(1 Cor
12:13)(Col 3:11)(Gal 2:6)(Job 34:19), so the Bible doesn't make racial distinctions.
This being said, however, we can make some logical assumptions about a person's skin
color based on the region in which a person came from. In speaking about black people
mentioned in the Bible, Africa would be the center of attention. A part of Africa is mentioned
in the Bible even at the beginning of time (Gen 2:13: Cush). The two main places within
Africa that are mentioned in the Bible are the country of Ethiopia (Cush), and the city of
Cyrene (located in the country of Libya).
Ethiopians are mentioned 41 times in the Bible (all but 1 in the Old Testament). Moses
wife was an Ethiopian (Cushite). Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses for marrying her, and as
a result, Miriam was temporarily given leprosy (her skin was turned "white as snow" Num
12:10).
Ebed-Melech was an Ethiopian who saved the life of the prophet Jeremiah by pulling him
out of a well he was dropped into by the officials of King Zedekiah (Jer 38:7-13). Jeremiah
later was told by the Lord to tell him that he would "not be given over into the hand" of the
Babylonians when they captured Jerusalem because "thou hast put thy trust in me (God)" (Jer
39:15-18).
Although there is some disagreement on this point, the Queen of Sheba, who visited
Solomon in (1 Kin 13:1-13)(2 Chr 9:1-12), is thought to have been from Ethiopia (some say
Arabia). Many traditions and ancient writings teach that they married, and many Ethiopians
believe their child became the first king of Ethiopia. The Bible does not confirm this. There is
also conjecture that the Song of Solomon was written about the love affair between Solomon
and Sheba, because in (Song 1:5) the wife says, "I am black, but comely" (this could also
refer to a lady who worked outdoors in the sun). Again, however, this is also not confirmed in
the Bible.
In the New Testament, a man who was likely black was given one of the highest honors in
history. Simon of Cyrene was given the task of carrying Jesus cross for Him when He could
no longer carry it (Mt 27:32)(Mk 15:21)(Lk 23:26).
We are told in (Mk 15:21) that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Rufus and
his mother apparently became very good friends with Paul later on. Paul referred to Rufus'
mother as being like a mother to him (Rom 16:13).
Philip helped convert to the Lord a eunuch, who was an official of Candace, queen of
Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-40).
Men from Cyrene went to Antioch to preach the Lord Jesus to the Greeks, and a great
number of them believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:19-21).

Lucius of Cyrene, and Simeon, who was called Niger (which means black in Latin) were
prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1). (They were likely a part of the
group that visited in Acts 11).
Lucius also apparently worked with Paul (Rom 16:21).
In addition, Cyrenians are also mentioned at Pentecost (Acts 2:10), as well as in (Acts
6:9).
Contrary to popular belief today, I see no evidence that whites (Caucasians) had much of a
role at all in the Bible. The pictures, movies, t.v. shows, etc... that show people from the Bible
as being white are simply not accurately portraying what they actually looked like. History,
geography, and archaeology all show us that people who are mentioned in the Bible tended to
have darker complexions. Again, the Bible is pretty much silent on skin color, but whites
should not believe they are the dominant race in the Bible.

The Hebrew People of the Bible What Color are

They?
By Chawviv ben Yisrael

For years, people of the world have been led to believe that the people of the bible were white people,
when in fact they were black. Hollywood, one of the many contributing factors to this cause, isn't
innocent to this either, they take the front line for the ranks of deception. We the people of the world
should not continue to let this occur because the ones to be affected by this will be the children of the
future.
Movies, television and some white people portray the people of the bible as white. What should it
matter, if they are white or black. Should it matter, if they are white or black? If I were white, I'd say no,
and if this was an ideal world and if all affluent people looked like me. But we are living in a world of
lies and deception and when the children's minds develop off of the deception that is being told and
taught, then the truth must be brought to the forefront. Also, I am not white and the more affluent
doesn't look like me.
People of color are more vulnerable and are more easily to believe what is being told to them,
especially when their history has been erased from their minds, and it is constantly battered in their
heads through their educational systems, television, and movie theaters. Well, the time has come for
the truth to be told. And what is that truth? That the people of the bible are people of color.
Before I can go forward, I need to go backwards into some history. Lets look at the people of the bible,
who had who.
Genesis 10:2-4, Japheth begot Gomer (*Galatians) (**Germany, Crimea, Cambria, Celts), Magog
(*Scythians) (**Georgia, Scythians), Madai (*Medes), Javan (*Grecians), Tubal (*Iberes), Meshech
(**Moscow), and Tiras. Gomer begot Ashkenaz (*Rheginians) (**Germany, Saxons, Scandavia),
Riphath, and Togarmah. Javan begot Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim (**Cyprus) (Abraham ibn Ezra said the
Romans were descended from Kittim), and Dodanim. (*denotes The Complete Works of Josephus.
**denotes The table of the Nations off the Web)
Genesis 10:6-18, Ham begot Cush (*Ethiopians), Mizraim (*Egypt), Phut (*Libya), and Canaan. Cush
begot Nimrod, Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah. Raamah begot Sheba and Dedan.
Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim. Canaan
begot Sidon, Heth, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgasites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and
Hamathite.
Genesis 10:22-29, Shem begot Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad (*Chaldeans), Lud, and Aram. Aram begot
Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad begot Salah. Salah begot Eber. Eber begot Peleg (from here
comes the family of Abraham) and Joktan. Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab
.
And Noah and his wife created Japheth, Ham, and Shem.
After the dispersion of the people by God at the tower of Babel, each went into their own region of the

world. Japheth and his family went into Europe. Shem and Ham stayed in the area, so to say.
Mizraim (Egypt) and some of his family went into a land now called Africa, but it wasn't called Africa
then. Cush (Ethiopia) had a very large area which even went into what is now called Middle East.
Remember, Nimrod was a Cushite and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and
Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Around 1913BCE, there was a famine in the land. And due to the famine, Abram (Abraham) and his
wife Sarai journeyed to the land of Egypt. But before he entered the land of Egypt he said to Sarai,
"Behold now, I know that you art a fair woman to look upon. And it will come to pass, when the
Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say: This is his wife; and they will kill me, but thee they will
keep alive."
Now the incident came to pass, but Rabbi Shelomoh Yitschaki, Solomon ben Isaac, also known as
Rashi, said in his commentaries, reference behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman, "Knowing
that you are beautiful, I realize that your beauty is now a source of danger, particularly since the
Egyptians are dark-skinned and ugly." Besides this being a ridiculous comment, the point that I am
trying to point out is the fact that the Rabbi has stated that the Egyptians were people of color.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines black as, "Having a dark skin . . . " and "a person
belonging to a dark skinned race . .
. " This may seem irrelevant now, but this quote by Rashi is going to back fire on him. Stick with me.
Also at least they have finally admitted that the Egyptians were people of color.
Next, Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, from the twelve tribes of Israel, was sold to some
Ishmaelites by his brothers out of anger. The Ishmaelites took Joseph into Egypt and sold him to the
Egyptians. Later a famine had struck the land of Egypt and Canaan and according to the Bible all the
lands and was very devastating. Jacob instructed several of his sons to go into Egypt and buy food
because Egypt had enough to sell.
When the brothers of Joseph, the sons of Jacob had entered the land of Egypt, they were told to see a
particular person. Not knowing oh the individual was they were going to see, when they faced him,
they didn't recognize him, but Joseph recognized them. If Joseph is supposed to be a white person,
and he was in the mist of black people, don't you think his brothers would have recognized him
immediately. Why didn't his brothers recognize him immediately? Could it have been due to him being
black amongst black people and he blended in? A white person definitely would have been able to be
pointed out if he was amongst black slaves during slavery time. Don't you think?
Next, while the Israelites were living in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh had commanded for all the Israelite
males to be exterminated. Now during this time, a couple from the Israelite people had borne a son,
and they had hid him for three months. When they couldn't hide him no longer, she put the child into a
basket and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. The daughter of Pharaoh, wanting to
bathe in the Nile, went to the banks and saw the basket among the reeds and when she opened the
basket she saw a baby in it. Being that the baby was very young, she instructed a Hebrew family,
coincidently the baby's mother, to nurse the child until he was weaned. Once he was weaned, she
brought the boy to her father and asked if she could keep the child, and her father said yes. Also, the
baby was named Moses.

Remembering that the Egyptians were black, if Moses was white and knowing that Pharaoh had
issued a decree to kill all the Hebrew males, wouldn't he have killed Moses immediately when she
brought this supposedly white child into her father's house? Also, if he was white, do you think
Pharaoh's daughter would have even let the child live when she found him by the Nile? Obviously we
must say no.
Finally, Moses lived amongst the Egyptians for years and one day when he saw an Egyptian abusing
a Hebrew, he came to the aide of the Hebrew and killed the Egyptian. Knowing that the word would
get out and back to Pharaoh, he fled Egypt and went to the land of Midian. Upon entering Midian he
came to the aide of some women of the land and helped them. They were very grateful and ran back
and told their father that an "Egyptian" saved them.
Again, if he was mistaking for an Egyptian, and knowing that the Egyptians are supposedly darkskinned and ugly, does this make Moses dark-skinned and ugly too? This is where people need to
watch what they say. It may come back to haunt you.
What I have presented here, which is merely speculation. The only proof that I have given where
someone has said the Egyptians where black was by the Rabbi. So let me notegive more facts for you
to think about.
Herodotus (484? -425? BC) was one of the most widely traveled people of his time. His writings show
his interest in both history and geography. Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus, a Greek colony in
Asia Minor. He was a frequent visitor to Athens, he was a close friend of Sophocles. He also
journeyed to the western shores of the Black Sea, to southern Italy and Egypt, and to the Asian cities
of Tyre, Babylon, Ecbatana, Nineveh, and Susa, says the Compton's Interactive encyclopedia.
During his travels, Herodotus kept a journal of his activities. The journal was later translated, and in
one of his entries, he wrote the following about the Egyptians or to be more exact the natives:
" ...it is certain that the natives of the country are black . . . ; there can be no doubt that the Colchians
are an Egyptians race . . . I made this inquiries on the subject both in Colchis and in Egypt, and I
found that the Colchians had a more distinct recollection of the Egyptians, than the Egyptians had of
them . . . My own conjectures were founded, first, on the fact that they are black-skinned and have
woolly hair . . . "
Now, what I have done here is give a positive identification of the Egyptians. And by me doing this and
showing that the Israelites always got mistaken for them, prove that they both, the Egyptians and the
Israelites were black people.
You may still have your doubts and desire more evidence before you will acknowledge that the
Bibilical Israelites were a black people. So, allow me to continue.
Solomon Grayzel, a white Jewish historian, wrote in his book, A History of the Jews, in the ninth
century CE (AD), a man appeared in north Africa among the Hebrews there, his name was Eldad from
the tribe of Dan, he was a danite. They said he spoke a strange language and told them a weird story.
He said the members of his tribe had escaped Israel after Sennacherib had conquered Israel, and
other Hebrews from other tribes also live in the land from where he came from. He told the Hebrews in
the northern part of Africa all the law that his people follow, which was given to his tribe by tradition
from Moses successor Joshua ben Nun. The Hebrews of the northern part of Africa at first was in

question about his story, but threw further examine by the Gaon, he assured the northern African
Hebrews the story was legitimate.
I have mentioned this story because Mr Grayzel went on to say, "Some modern scholars argue that
Eldad was an Ethiopian Jew, a descendant of the ancient colony which, in the days of Ezra, lived on
the southern border of Egypt . . . " If you know your history, and if you know what color the Ethiopian
Jews are, then you have already come to the conclusion that Eldad the Danite, from the tribe of Dan,
one of the twelve tribes of Israel was a black man.
Another story that I want to tell you about is in a book entitled "The Hope of Israel," by Menasseh ben
Israel which was published 1652. In it speaks of an incident that occurred with a traveler named
Antonio de Montezinos. It says upon Montezinos return from the Americas, it is sufficient here to know
that he has found the descendants of the lost ten tribes. At this point, I am going to quote the letter
from Menasseh ben Israel to John Dury concerning what he said. The letter was dated 25 November
1649 and it reads, "Curiously enough, in the sixteenth century one Antonio Montesino of Lima stated,
according to the writings of Luis Lopez, Bishop of Quito, that The Indians of the islands and mainland
of the Indies . . . are Hebrews descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel'. And he did say further in
his book, "that they keepe their true religion, as hoping to returne again into the Holy land in due time."
People, if this isn't enough proof as to say what color the Hebrews were, then you are truly in a state
of denial.
Also, as for a pictorial concerning the children of Israel. In a documentary on the Art & Entertainment
channel, titled In Search of The Ten Commandments, it showed an ancient hieroglyphic picture of the
Israelites while they were slaves in Egypt, and they were black. They looked just like the Egyptians. So
I can see why Moses was mistaken for an Egyptian, and why Joseph wasn't recognized by his
brothers.
Finally, I am going to list three passages from the bible identifying the color of the Israelites. They are:
Lamentation 4:8, Their visage (face) is blacker than coal
Lamentation 5:10, Our skin was black like an oven . . .
; And Job 30:30, My skin is black upon me . . .
In this document, I have given enough information proving that the Hebrews are black people. But I
say to you all, this isn't enough. Teach your children the truth!