Page 79 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

CH A P T E R 5

The Nile

Corridor

Churches

Ethiopia, Cush, and Sheba

erhaps the first Gentile Christian was an African. According to
Acts 8:27, “So he [Philip] started out, and on his way he met
Pan Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the
treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.” A footnote to this verse
in the NIV translation of the Bible notes: “That is, from the upper Nile
region.” It is obvious that this first non-Jewish convert was from Africa
and was black in complexion. In ancient Greek and Roman usage,
“Ethiopia” did not refer only to what we mean today by the term Ethiopia.
In ancient Mediterranean literature, “Ethiopians” specifically referred to
all black Africans. Burton’s comments in this regard are helpful:

The Queen of Sheba is probably the most enchanting Cushite
politician in Scripture. Referred to as the Queen of the South by
Jesus (Matthew 12:42), she is first mentioned in association with
her visit to Solomon during the early days of his reign
(1 Kings 10:1–13; 2 Chronicles 9:1–12). The Bible states that the
purpose of the visit was to “test him with hard questions”
(1 Kings 10:1).… In addition to presenting him with gifts—the

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