Does the Bible mention any black people?
The Bible doesn't identify any specific person by their skin color, though there are indications that some people in the Bible were black.Most all the history related through the Bible occurs in the Middle East where most people are, and have been for recorded history, brown skinned. Of course, white people occupied lands to the north and west, while black people prevailed to the south. Asian and Indian people lived to the West. The message of the Bible is not intended for any one race, but is for all races.
Zipporah, Moses' wife, was from Cush (Numbers 12:1), a part of Africa. In Song of Solomon 1:5 the Shulamite was dark skinned, though that may have been from exposure to the sun, judging by context. Some scholars believe Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3) was black, and the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1) who visited Solomon may have been black.
In the New Testament, tradition has it that the man pulled from the crowd to carry Jesus' cross was black. We know his name, Simon, and where he was from, Cyrene (Matthew 27:32). Cyrene, in what is now Libya, is a Mediterranean Sea port city. People from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa settled there.
The Ethiopian eunuch was most likely black, as were most people from Ethiopia then and now. Jeremiah even asked, in Jeremiah 13:23, if an Ethiopian could change his skin.
The Bible doesn't focus on skin color. When western Christians read about slavery in the New Testament it is wise to remember that in ancient times slaves were of all races, not black as in American history. Some scholars believe black people were descendants of Noah's son Ham (Genesis 10:6–20), but the evidence of such a lineage is scarce.
The gospel is for all people, regardless of skin color, heritage, socio-economic status, or family history. Jesus offers salvation to all who come and choose to believe in His death and resurrection as propitiation for their rebellion against God.
What did the people talked about in the Bible look like?
What do we know about Simon of Cyrene?
Does the Bible allow for slavery?
What is a biblical view of prejudice, descrimination, and racism?
What is the origin of the races of humanity?
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