BLACK PRESENCE IN THE BIBLE 

One place where we as people of color tend to be somewhat ignorant of our history is in our Biblical history. Normally we recognize a few names in the Bible as being Black people. But for the most part, we rarely if ever question our presence in Biblical history. We sometimes act as if we did not exist until our forefathers were snatched from Africa. Our lack of knowledge coupled with improper portrayal of Biblical figures in movies like the Ten Commandments have left many wondering or asking why there are so few people of color in the Bible. Let's examine this question. 

Acts 17:24-26 - Here we see that the earth was populated by Noah and his 3 sons. 

Genesis 9:18 - 19 - Here we are given the names of Noah's 3 sons.  

Japheth - which means bright or fair was the father of the Caucasian and Indo-European races.  Moving north from Babel they settled areas like Magog, Gomer and the regions north of the Caspian and Black seas. 

Shem - which means dusky or olive colored became the father of the Semitic (Hebrew) and Arab races. Moving south and west from Babel they settled Biblical Assyria. The descendents of Shem include the Jewish, Persian, Assyrian, Chaldeans, Armenians and Syrians. 

Ham - which means dark or black became the father of the Black, Indian and Mongoloid races. Obviously to study Biblical Black history we must focus our attention on Ham and his descendents.  

One might ask how one man and the same woman could produce 3 children of such different complexions. "Medical research tells us it is possible to have children that are very different, especially if one or both of the parents is dark-complexioned, but it is impossible for two bright or fair complexioned persons to produce a dark skinned child. So for Noah to have fathered a dark complexioned son, he or his wife, or both he and his wife had to be dark skinned. You may wonder how they could have been Black or dark complexioned. Genesis 2:7 tells us that Adam was made from the dirt. Adam in Hebrew is Adahm, which means red or taken out of red earth. The name Adam also translate man; the prefix hu means color. So we can conclude that Adam made from dirt was a man of color"[Marilyn Hickey].  

Back to Noah's sons. 

For years we have been told that our complexion was a result of the curse that Noah put on Ham. But that is not what the Bible teaches. 

Gen. 9:24 - It was Canaan not Ham who Noah cursed. Now who was Canaan? 

Gen 10:6 - Ham who was a man of color had four sons, all of whom were black, and only one of those sons, Canaan was cursed by Noah. Let's look a little closer at Ham's four sons.

Cush

The descendents of Cush populated Ethiopia, and what is presently northern Sudan (or ancient Nubia). Cushite, Cushi and Ethiopian are all names used for the descendents of Cush. Cush was the father of Nimrod. Look a Genesis 10:8-10. Nimrod was the first man to establish a great empire. He was ruler over Babylon and Akkad(2) in southern Mesopotamia. The original Babylonians were cushites. 

We know of the Ethiopian eunuch and Queen Candace an Ethiopian in Acts 8:27-28. The prophet Zephaniah was a cushite (Zeph 1:1). Cushite runners were used to deliver messages in 2 Sam 18:19-33 and Jerm. 36:14. According to Num. 12:1 Moses had an Ethiopian wife. The accepted descent of the Queen of Sheba is also that she was Ethiopian (I Kings 10:1, Matt 12:42). Sheba was an Ethiopian city named after Sheba the grandson of Cush (Gen 10:7). 

Mizraim - Heb. word for land of Egypt 

Mizraim settled the Egyptian territory and was the ancestor of both the Egyptians and I Chron. 1:11-12 tells us that he was an ancestor of the Philistines. 

Gen. 16:1,15, Gen. 21:9-13 - Hagar the Egyptian was mother of Ishmael, son of Abraham. In Gen. 21:13 God promises Abraham that a nation would flow out of Ishmael. Ishmael is noted as the father of the Arab race. Though the bloodline of the Arab race is Semitic through Abraham and Ishmael, the mother of the race was Hagar an Egyptian. 

Gen 36:1-3- Esau, grandson of Abraham married Canaanite women, and one of Ishmael’s daughters. These women mothered Edomites.

 Gen. 41:50-52 - Wycliffe says that Potipherah was an Egyptian priest of the sun god Ra. Joseph married his daughter and had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. These two sons were the Fathers of two of the tribes of Israel who went in to possess the promise land. 

We know that the Egyptians were great architects, mathematicians, engineers and physicians. They were excellent at taming horses and are noted for the practice of embalming the dead Gen. 50:2. Joseph had Egyptian servants who were physicians. 

So Mizraim fathered the Egyptian and Philistine people, but his descendents also mother two other races, the Arabs and the Edomites. 

Phut 

Phut and his descendents settled Lybia and were ancestors of the Libyan race. One of the major cities in Libya was Cyrene. We have been told often of Simon of Cyrene, the Black man who helped bear the cross of Jesus. Also the Bible tells us in Act 13:1-3 of Simeon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene who were Christian prophets and teachers and who took part in the ordaining of Paul and Barnabas. What that tells me is that as a race our first introduction to Christianity was not here in America, but we were a part of the actual Christian movement and spread of the gospel in Bible days. 

Canaan 

Canaan settled the land of Canaan and became the ancestor of the Phoenicians, Hittites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, and Jebusites. Major cities settled by Canaanites included Sodom and Gomorrah, Gaza, Jericho, Sidon, Giloh which was a Hittite city, and Jerusalem which was also called Salem and Jebus (I Chron 11:4) and was settled by Jebus son of Canaan. Now who do we know from Salem. Melchizedek in Gen. 14:18, was the king of Salem. As a type or symbol of Christ who has not beginning and no ending, Melchizedek's lineage is not given. However, the fact that he is King of a black race would suggest that he was black. 

2 Sam. 11:1-3 - Bathesheba was the daughter of Eliam and according to 2 Sam 23:34 Eliam was the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite. Gilonites were Hittite descendents of Canaan who settled the City of Giloh. Bathesheba a Hittite woman married Uriah a Hittite man. David took Bathesheba a Hittite woman and produced Solomon who would latter become King of Israel.  

Gen 38:1-6 - Judah, another son of Jacob marries Shuah a Canaanite who bears Er, Onan and Shelah.  Tamar a Canaanite marries Er. Er died and through trickery Tamar became pregnant by Judah and had twins Pharez and Zereh (Gen. 38:24-30). 

Josh 2:1, 3:10(Gen. 10:16) - Rahab the harlot was a Canaanite, who found favor in the sight of the children of Israel because she help them to overtake Jericho. 

Matt. 1:1-6 - In this section of scripture 4 women are named in the genealogy of Christ between Judah and Solomon. Three of these women, Tamar, Rahab, and Bathesheba, are descendents of Canaan. This is the genealogy of Christ through Joseph. We must also remember that Jesus was not conceived by Joseph, but rather by the Holy Ghost. Thus His (Jesus’) bloodline, which is determined from the father was the blood of God.  

Luke 3:31-34 - This is the lineage of Mary mother of Jesus. The line from David flows through Nathan, son also of Bathesheba (I Chron 3:5). This should help in understanding the description of the hair and feet of Jesus given in Rev. 1:13-15. 

We are not told of the wives of some of the other men listed in the lineage of Jesus. We have seen representation from both the Hamitic and Shemitic people. It is quite possible that women of Japhetic ancestry may also be present in the lineage. In fact it is quite natural to think that all people of the world were represented in Christ who came as a sin sacrifice for all mankind. 

A history marred with slavery and oppression; years of erroneous propaganda fed to us through television and movies, and even pictures that have hung and still hang in many of our homes and churches have influenced our view of Black presence in the Bible. We have considered ourselves to have trivial presence and have therefore opened the door for the enemy to say to us through false religions that Christianity is a White man's religion. The slavery and oppression we have faced is only part of our history. We must remember that the Hamites ruled Egypt from 3500 BC to the Persian conquest in 525 BC. They ruled Canaan from 4000 BC to 1200 BC and Mesopotamia from 4000 BC to 2350 BC. In fact over the history of the Hamatic race we have enslaved Japhetic, Semitic and even other Hamitic people.  

As a Black people we have a strong Biblical heritage. We have fathered and mothered races. We have been king and queens. We have built beautiful cities and empires. In teaching Moses, we taught the Hebrews the mathematics and sciences. We were represented in the early church days and we were among the masses to hear Peter preach on the Day of Pentecost. We were never an after thought in the mind of God or a cursed race of people. We have been vital contributors to God's plan and by instilling in ourselves and our children to come our Biblical history we come to understand our value to God and humanity.  

If we look at the history of man, generally speaking each race has been given about 2000 years to reign: Ham - 4000 BC to 2000 BC; Shem 2000 BC to 300 BC; and Japheth 300 BC to the present. All three races have demonstrated that regardless of whether we are children of Ham, of Shem or of Japheth, we are all incapable of ruling the world. What will happen when the rule of Japheth is over. Could it be that we then enter into the reign and rule of Jesus. Could we be closer now to Rev. 5:9 then even we as Christians think. 

Rev. 21:1-8 - I've tried to show you today that Jesus is a universal God. In Him all the peoples of the world are represented. If the time of mankind's rule on this earth is about to end it would behoove us all to be prepared to enter eternity. God leaves the choice with each man, an eternity with Him as our ruler, or an eternity in the lake of fire. If you don't know Jesus as your personal savior, will you today choose the God of all mankind. 

REFERENCES 

1. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, Moody Press, Chicago, 1987. 

2. Henry, Matthew, A Commentary on the Whole Bible, World Bible Publishers, Iowa Falls, Iowa. 

3. Johnson, John L., The Black Biblical Heritage, Winston-Derek Publishers, Nashville, TN, 1991.  

4. Walvoord, John F. and Zuck, Roy B., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1984. 

5. 100 Amazing Facts on the African Presence in the Bible, Winston-Derek Publishers, Iowa Falls, Iowa, 1992. 

6. McKissic, Sr., William D., Beyond Roots: In Search of Blacks in the Bible, Renaissance Productions, Wenonah, NJ, 1990. 

7. Fowler, Jackie, My People: A Biblical Account in Chart Form, Fowler Enterprises, Tulsa, OK, 1991. 

8. Hyman, Mark, Blacks Who Died For Jesus, Winston-Derek Publishers, Nashville, TN, 1983. 

9. Mosley, William, What Color Was Jesus?, African American Images, Chicago, IL, 1987.