The Black presence in the Bible

four sons of Ham, Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan (Genesis 10) inhabited and populated areas of North Africa, North-Eastern Africa, East Africa, and parts of Arabia. What is not so well known is that parts of ancient Israel were also considered North-Eastern Africa, and that Israel has always had a common border with Egypt.

with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”’

There was shock and horror on the faces of members of the congregation when I referred to Jesus Christ as a Black Palestinian Jew. The reason for the cognitive dissonance was that popular representations of Jesus Christ in the media and literature in the 21st century still depict Him as a white, blue-eyed Person, with long flowing blond hair.

James Warden, a minister and Christian radio announcer, puts it more bluntly: “Black people are the backdrops that God used to highlight His greatest acts and Blacks are the canvas on which much Old Testament Scripture is painted.”

Ancient images of Jesus Christ and other New Testament characters in Rome, Ethiopia, Egypt and Russia are presented as persons of colour. So, what has changed? Why is there this difficulty, for some, believing there’s a Black presence in the Bible? Even a casual reading of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible gives a world that is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural.

The difficulty comes with the defensive posture taken by European and Western nations and their associated Christian churches, which arose out of the historical misuse of the Bible in the European colonial enterprise and the transatlantic trade in Africans between the 15th and 19th centuries.

The evidence for a significant Black presence in the Bible is without doubt, even though skin colour was not an important issue in the ancient world regarding human value and/or social standing.

It is seldom debated any longer that the

When the above is understood, it shows evidence of human settlements and migration of Black persons in countries on the southern axis of the biblical story’s geography. This line of evidence is further supported by other studies in the social sciences, such as ethnography (the studies of peoples and cultures) and etymology (the study of the history and root of words). When these studies are applied to the names associated with Ham and his descendants, the evidence for the widespread presence of people of colour in the Bible is substantial.

Furthermore, there are literally hundreds of biblical references to nations located on the African continent. Mizraim (or Egypt), Cush (or Ethiopia), Libya, and Cyrene are examples of such. The Bible, written over a period of 1,500 years by around 40 authors, contains references to over 60 different political and ethnic nations — a testament to the multicultural view of the world that is evident in Scripture.

In the New Testament, again we see a proliferation of the Black presence in the life and times of Jesus Christ and in the development of the Early Church. The Gospel’s life-altering message, conveyed through God’s personal interactions with Black people and their history, is part of God’s plan for humanity.

The relevance of ethnic identity is reinforced in Jesus’ vision for the climax of human history, found in Revelation 7:9–10: ‘After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white,

The Christian Church in Europe and the Western world in this age of scepticism needs to confess its sins and ‘repair the damage’ it has caused in its unholy alliance with European colonialism. As part of the repair, it has to humbly acknowledge the Black presence in the Bible. Until then, persons of colour in the West and on the continent of Africa will look at the Christian Church as hypocritical and continue to see the Christian Church as a ‘White Man’s religion’.

Black Presence In The Bible Resources

The Black Presence in the Bible Volumes I and II, Rev Dr Walter Arthur McCray, Black Light Fellowship Chicago, ILL.

The Black Light Course — a 12-week course for those who wish to delve into this area of interest. It is run by the Ascension Trust and Urban Expressions. www.blacklightcourse.uk

The Africa Study Bible, Oasis International/Tyndale House, 2017

After the Flood — a documentary that exposes the misuse of Noah’s drunkenness to justify slavery, sponsored by the Movement for Justice & Reconciliation