ARE THERE ANY BLACK INDIVIDUALS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?

First off, I should mention that there is a great deal of confusion regarding the various designations given to different geographical regions and their inhabitants during different time periods of biblical history. Thus, some of the statements made by the scholars cited below are to be taken as tentative and may be subject to change as we get more information in the future.

Moses' Wife (Numbers 12:1-10)

Concern over Moses' wife in the one of the main causes for Miriam and Aaron to rebel against Moses' authority.

Stubbs: “The traditional interpretation (found in the Septuagint) understands that they are upset because Moses married someone from Cush, a region in the Sudan or Nubia, perhaps even Ethiopia. If so, then the woman cannot be Zipporah [Moses' first wife], who is a Midianite. Since the people of that area have dark skin (Jer. 13:23), some suggest that Miriam and Aaron were upset because of her race. Even though modern racism simply did not exist at that time, the emphasis on her as a Cushite might suggest that her ethnicity (rather than race) is at issue.”

Thus, we have two possible interpretations for the identification of the Cushite. This refers to the Midianite Zipporah or to a second wife from Africa. There is no clear consensus among scholars, as you can see below:

Levine says, “Moses took a Cushite wife, we are told. Cush designates the Sudan (Nubia), the land south of Egypt, though Cush is sometimes identified as Ethiopia. The woman in question was most certainly not Zipporah, who is identified as a Midianite woman. According to Exod 18:23, Zipporah had been sent home earlier, but was later brought back to join Moses by Jethro, her father. Most likely, Moses had married the Cushite woman during Zipporah's absence. The basis of the criticism by Miriam and Aaron is not explained, and there has understandably been much speculation on this subject. The inhabitants of Cush are black, according to Jer 13:23, but race could not have been the point at issue.”

Since this anonymous wife was a Cushite (usually explained as an 'Ethiopian'), Kitchen says that “she probably left Egypt among the Israelites and their sympathizers. It is also, perhaps, possible to derive 'Cushite' from Kushi and Heb. Cushan, associated with Midian (Hab. iii.7); it so this woman might be of allied stock to Jethro and Zipporah.”

“Commentators have puzzled over the identity of this woman for centuries...In the OT kus can refer to (1) a Nubian or, less accurately (in modern terms), an Ethiopian (cf. Ezek. 29:10); (2) a Kassite (cf. Gen. 10:8), or (3) an inhabitant of Kusan (Cushan), which parallels Midian in Hab. 3:7. Although Zipporah, a Midianite, could not qualify as a Cushite under the first or second options, she might just qualify in the third. One does wonder, however, why Mirian would wait this long to complain...” (Ashley)

“Cush may be part of Midian (Hab 3.7), in southern Transjordan. Hence Moses' wife Zipporah, a Midianite, could be the subject of the complaint (Ex 2.15,21; for an implicit ban on marrying Midianite women, cf. Num 25.1-11). The complaint about Moses' wife comes very soon after Zipporah joins the Israelites in Ex. 18.5-6, if the intervening legislative chapters (most of Ex. 19-Num 10) are bracketed out.” (D.F. Wright)

My own feeling is that Zipporah is not being referred to here, but a second wife of dark skin. This is because of the punishment God metes out on Miriam. She becomes totally white with leprosy. It is as if God is telling her, “Since you are so proud of your lighter skin, I am going to turn it completely white to see if that makes you any happier.” Ashley also agrees with this as the reason for the specific punishment of leprosy. However, he points out that the Midianites also had dark skin and so it does not necessarily indicate that she was Negroid.

The Cushite Messenger (II Samuel 18:19-32)

A Cushite runs to tell David about the death of Absalom along with Ahimaaz. At first, it appeared to me that Joab hopes the Cushite will get there first in case David does not like the news, since David had previously executed the messenger who announced Saul's death. Perhaps Joab felt the Cushite was more expendable. Seemingly confirming that view was the fact that Joab called Ahimaaz “my son” in v. 22. However, as you will soon see, not everyone agrees with that scenario.

First, concerning the significance of the word Cushite, Tsumura says, “A Cushite is a man from Cush to the south of Egypt. The Hebrew kus refers to various locations, e.g., Nubia and northern Sudan, Ethiopia..., and somewhere in northern or possible southeast Mesopotamia (see Gen. 2:13). Here, the man was either a Nubian or an Ethiopian.”

Baldwin: “Joab...was fully aware that the king would be interested only in what had happened to Absalom, and that for him the news would be anything but good. For this reason Joab chose a foreigner to take the message. For him it would be merely a duty, and his words would not be emotionally charged.”

McCarter: “There is no reason to suppose the fact that this fellow is a Cushite to have special significance. The designation suggests that his ancestry was Ethiopian or Nubian, and a few commentators conclude that his black skin was a signal to David of the bad news he was carrying. But, clearly, both Joab and the Cushite thought the news was good and wanted the king to think so too.”

“Ahimaaz couldn't bring himself to tell David the bad news. In verse 28 he told David the truth, but he didn't tell him the whole truth. The Cushite tells the whole truth; hence, for this narration the major truth comes from a minor character.” (D.R. Davis)

Payne says that “Joab preferred to send a slave as a messenger, rather than Ahima-az, in case David reacted violently to the news of Absalom's death. Moreover, a dark-skinned Cushite (= Ethiopian) will have been a messenger of ill omen.”

But as for Joab calling Ahimaaz “my son,” McCarter feels that it is not an expression of affection at all. “The tone of beni, lit. 'my son,' on Joab's lips is condescending, patronizing, or at least ironic.”

The Queen of Sheba (I Kings 10:1-13)

This important personage came to Solomon's court for two apparent reasons: to negotiate a trade agreement and to see for herself Solomon's wisdom. Hubbard says, “This queen is enshrined in Ethiopian legends...as the Queen of Ethiopia who bore by Solomon the first king of Ethiopia. This legend reflects the close tie which existed in antiquity between S Arabia and E Africa, which Josephus also notes when he calls this ruler 'Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia'...”

Also, House says, “Various interpretations of this story arose over time in Jewish, Ethiopian, and Christian circles. One Jewish legend holds that Solomon fathered a son for the queen, which was her ultimate 'desire.' Ethiopic tradition parallels the Jewish tradition, for it claims the royal Abyssinian line was founded by the offspring of Solomon and the queen of Sheba. Neither of these traditions has any historical basis, nor can they be substantiated by the biblical text.”

But despite those unhistorical additions, Myers says, “The visit of the queen of Sheba can no longer be regarded as fictional.” LaSor agrees with this assessment.

And Evans says, “For Luke the women of Israel, foreign women can be pictured either as significant players or as part of the furnishings, and the Queen of Sheba, who enters the story in I Kings 10, certainly is the former. She is intelligent, wealthy, powerful, and she has an inquiring mind.”

The only major question remaining is the probable racial identity of this ruler. Fitzmyer says that “Sheba (Hebrew seba) was a kingdom of Semitic people in southwest Arabia.” But other sources locate Sheba in modern-day Yemen, where the vast majority of the populace is Arab or Afro-Arab. We may safely assume a great deal of intermarriage took place between Black Africans and Arabs over the years in this area.

The Cushite Benjamite (Psalm 7 superscription)

“The tradition behind the superscription to Psalm 9 held that the Cushite...was a Benjamite, and this is not impossible. Cushi, father of the prophet Zephaniah was a great-grandson of Hezekiah (Zeph 1:17).” (McCarter) [see below]

Jacobson notes, “The incident that the superscription describes is not attested in the Old Testament. It cannot be a reference to 2 Sam. 16:17ff. or to 2 Sam. 18:2ff. Most likely, the superscription refers to an incident about David that has been lost.”

The Jerusalem Bible points out that the Hebrew text reads 'Cush,' while the versions read, 'Cushite.' Also, “'the Benjamite' suggests one of David's enemies: Saul, Sheba or Shimei.”

Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 38:7ff; 39:15ff)

Another important character in the Old Testament is this Ethiopian eunuch who rescued the prophet Jeremiah from a certain death when he was confined at the bottom of a cistern. Commentators have nothing but good to say in regard to this man's character.

Cawley and Millard: “Ebed-melech, a royal Ethiopian slave-eunuch, had the faith and courage to intercede with Zedekiah to lift the prophet out of the cistern...Ebed-melech was promised safety when the Babylonians took Jerusalem.”

D.R. Jones: “He who hears the word of the LORD is deserted on all sides and left to die. But the LORD delivers his man by means of one who is both outside the community of the chosen people and an emasculated human being.”

Bright feels that he is literally a eunuch although the word may also mean a palace officer. The Septuagint omits the fact that he was a eunuch.

Thompson: “Ebed-Melech proved to be practical and resourceful. Ropes under the armpits to lift Jeremiah from the pit might cut into his flesh; hence he took with him from the wardrobe storeroom some worn-out and unwanted clothing to cushion the ropes.” We hear the rest of this man's story in 39:15-18, on which Thompson comments, “We do not know, in fact, that he did survive the destruction of the city but may infer this because of the promise made by Jeremiah while he was still confined to the court guard. The promise of deliverance was made in emphatic terms – I will surely keep you safe. Eded-melech trusted (batah) in Yahweh. He was evidently another person in contact with the king who sympathized with Jeremiah...'The men whom you fear' may be a reference to the high officials mentioned in 38:1 who sought Jeremiah's death. It was a brave palace servant who would accuse such men of crime (38:9).”

Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1:1)

And now we come to the most interesting example, that of the prophet Zephaniah, since he may actually represent the only Black author in the Bible. “His father's name, Cushi (1.1), could mean 'the Cushite,' and has prompted some speculation about African ancestry for the prophet (cf. 2.12; 3.10). Aside from his name (which means 'Yahweh has protected') and these intriguing genealogical issues, nothing is known about the prophet.” (Mobley)

McCarter says, “presumably Cushi's mother was an Ethiopian – thus he was kusi, a Negro, and at the same time a Judahite.” On the other hand, Baker feels that 'Cush' in Zephaniah 2:12 “is here used as one alternative name for Egypt as in Isa 20:4 and Ezek 30:1-9.”

Kitchen mentions similar confusion regarding the geographical region which is being designated. He explains that Cush originally referred to a specific area south of Egypt (ca. 2000 BC). But it quickly became a general term for Nubia/Ethiopia. By Isaiah's time Egypt and Ethiopia were closely linked since an “Ethiopian” Dynasty ruled over both. However, from ca. 660 BC, the two kingdoms were separated again.

“Zephaniah is designated as son of Cushi. A variety of conclusions may be reached on the basis of this distinctive name of the father of Zephaniah. But they all fall in the realm of speculation which has inadequate foundation in fact that can be substantiated. A. Bentzen stretches the evidence a bit in his suggestion that Zephaniah may have been a Negro slave in the service of the temple. ..It might be suggested that this fourth-generation genealogy is intended to relieve Zephaniah from the stigma and sanctions associated with a Cushite ancestry. For the Egyptians (at times equivalent in Scripture to the Cushite) was excluded from the assembly of Israel until the third generation (Deut. 23:7-8). The obvious problem with this suggestion is the positioning of Cushi in Zephaniah's genealogy. He does not stand in the third (or fourth) position, but in the first position in relation to the prophet.” (Robertson)

“His genealogy is much longer than the usual prophetic pedigree and traces four generations. Suggested reasons for this are (a) to overcome opposition to him because of his African father, 'Cushi' meaning 'Ethiopian', though this does not tally with Dt. 23:8; (b) that 'he probably belonged to a family of some importance' (Ellison)...”

“We're told that Zephaniah's father is a man called Cushi. This is an Egyptian name, and some have suggested that he may have been of Ethiopian Negro origin and a slave or civil servant in the royal household. We can't be sure...A boy growing up in the extended royal family was in a good position to know what was going on in those circles, and as we study the message of Zephaniah we will find that he is well informed about the religious, civil and political issues of the day.” (Bridger)

“Cushi is Zephaniah's father. Cush is usually identified in the OT as Ethiopia. Does that mean that Zephaniah's father was a Ethiopian? Probably not. The fact that the three ancestors before Cushi have good Hebrew names indicates that Zephaniah's family was Judean even though there may have been some intermarriage in or foreign influence on the family.” (R.L. Smith)

“The name 'Cushi'...means 'Ethiopian.' A reader might wonder if such a person were indeed an authentic spokesperson for Judah's God, and so, one might presume, a redactor added the Yahwistic pedigree that follows, tracing the prophet back three more generations of men whose names ended in 'iah' to someone named 'Hezekiah' (the eighth-century BC king of Judah?). Thus, the superscription seeks to stamp the imprimatur of Yahweh on the collection of sayings of the prophet.” (Redditt)