Tag: Ethiopia

The Man From Meroe

Friday’s Column: Brent’s Bent

We know little about the treasurer from “Ethiopia,” introduced in Acts 8. How did he come to believe in Judaism? What was his given name? What happened to him after Phillip baptized him into Christ? A study of this enigmatic figure is fascinating.

Did you know that the treasurer’s homeland was known as the “Kingdom of Meroe”? The remnant of the once-powerful Kingdom of Kush ruled over even their Egyptian neighbors for a time. If you recognize the name “Kush,” it is because Noah had a grandson named “Cush” (cf. Genesis 10.6-8; Daniel 11.43). The “Ethiopians” are Cush’s descendants.

The “Kandake” line of queens ruled over Meroe. It is known as “Candace” in English Bible translations. The sequence of queens is likely named Candace, a famous empress who ruled the Kushites during Alexander the Great’s conquest. She was a well-known military general and tactician. According to legend, Alexander refused to invade “Nubia” for fear of being defeated by her.

The Ethiopian eunuch, as treasurer, would overlook an impressive treasury. Meroe was a prosperous kingdom due to her trade with the Romans and African tribes from Africa’s western grasslands. They traded with the Romans for gold and other sub-Saharan products until the third century AD. Meroe maintained prominence after their trade with the Romans declined in the early third century due to her ability to smelt iron. Meroe’s workers’ tools and weapons were sought after by her neighbors. Meroe eventually fell from grace and was conquered by her southern neighbor, Axum. This formerly independent state is now an integral part of Sudan.

Meroe’s inhabitants worshiped Egyptian gods and a few gods of their creation. Someone proselytized people in the region at an unknown point in antiquity. According to the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, Jews were living in lower Egypt just before Judah and Benjamin’s Babylonian captivity (cf. Jeremiah 44.1ff). God foresaw those fleeing south to avoid the Babylonians and warned them against their actions (cf. Jeremiah 42.19ff). The treasurer is an example of someone who converted to Judaism. There remain adherents to Judaism in the region today. 

What distance did the treasurer go to worship God? Meroe to Jerusalem was about 3,000 miles round trip. So, the treasurer was devout. And consider that once in Jerusalem, the Old Law prohibited his entry into the Temple proper because he was a eunuch and forbade entry. Thus, his desire to be close to God was strong!

Though we do not know the treasurer’s name, we know some of the Meroitic men’s surnames. Arkinidad, Amanislo, Pakheme, Shorkaror, Teritegas, and Yesbokheamani were some of their names. Such names are foreign to the English-speaking ear. It’s possible that the treasurer’s name sounded strange to Philip as well. 

What happened to the Ethiopian treasurer after he became a Christian? The treasurer returned to Meroe and converted Queen Candace and many of his fellow Meroites, according to Irenaeus and Eusebius, two Christian writers of the second century AD. They also stated that the treasurer was a martyr dying in Ceylon after preaching the Gospel throughout Arabia Felix (i.e., Yemen). Though we cannot verify the information of Irenaeus and Eusebius, it is consistent with the character introduced on the sacred page.

Brent Pollard

Surrounded By Hungry And Thirsty People

Neal Pollard

I was a child when I saw news coverage of the famine in Ethiopia, the mass starvation, the distended stomachs, and the deaths from malnourishment. I had never seen anything like this, and I was deeply saddened by the images on the screen. If you had asked me if I ever expected to see or know about anything more tragic than that, I would surely have said no. Now, decades later, I routinely see something much more tragic. I can observe it whenever I wish, though it’s not something that ever gets easier. Noah Icenhour, the fine, new associate minister at the Mabelvale church of Christ near Little Rock, Arkansas, shared a concept with me that he read from N.T. Wright about our culture. Describing why so many are swallowing foolish, harmful ideas, whether false religion, fleshly indulgence, materialism and greed, evolution, atheism, narcissism, or the like, he says that so many are consuming these things because they are so hungry and thirsty that to satisfy and slake these inner yearnings they are willing to consume even sources that are polluted.

We are surrounded by spiritually hungry and thirsty people. They long for purpose, meaning, and value, but so often they seek it subjectively. Or they go to an improper source to satisfy these. Consequently, they squander their precious lives pursuing the wrong things, a path that Jesus describes as one in which “the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction” (Mat. 7:13). Spoken or unspoken, they are crying out for proper direction. They want their lives to matter. While the majority (Mat. 7:14) will refuse the biblical answer, I am convinced that our society is full of people who are honestly searching. They would be open to hearing the Bible’s answers to these preeminently important questions of origination, motivation, and destination.

Today, wherever you find yourself and whatever else you are doing, will you have the compassion and concern enough to look for and seek to help the kind of person I’m talking about? Let’s pray for courage and wisdom, and walk through the open doors we find. In so doing, we will be aiding hungry and thirsty souls who will ultimately go somewhere to satiate their cravings. With us in their lives, they can find true bread (Jn. 6:35) and living water (Jn. 4:14). Such will lift them now and save them eternally! May our hearts be touched enough by their dire condition that we cannot help but help.

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