Black people in the Bible

[empress]

Iam confused Noah had three son Shem japheth and Ham.Ham saw his father nakedness and told his other brother. And Noah cursed is descendants well I believe that I come from the line of Ham's descendants.I don't know if this is true or not but I think in the Torah it say that when Noah cursed Ham his skin turned black.I used to work in a orthodox Jewish home and one of the jewish girl told me when moisach comes back He is going to kill me because I am not his people. I was shocked what she had told me the kids Did not like me Because they felt I was beneath them.I was listen to a messianic Jew.He said because of the curse of Ham's descendants that's why black people had 400 years of slavery and persecution. I need Help on this matter.Is it any truth to this claims I am really confused about. Scientist say that everyone on the planet migrated from a region in Africa and there Dna can be linked there. We are all the same why when someone looks different we don't like them everyone cannot be the same.

[Bev]

Hi Empress, Discussions found in our other articles, such as "How did different skin colors come about?" show clearly that the blackness of, for example, black Africans, is merely one particular combination of inherited factors. This means that these factors themselves, though not in that combination, were originally present in Adam and Eve. The belief that the skin color of black people is a result of a curse on Ham and his descendants is nowhere taught in the Bible.

Furthermore, it was not Ham who was cursed, but his son, Canaan (Genesis 9:18, 25, 10:6). Furthermore, Canaan's descendants were probably mid-brown skinned (Genesis 10:15-19), not black.

False teaching about Ham has been used to justify slavery and other non-biblical racist practices. It is traditionally believed that the African nations are largely Hamitic, because the Cushites (Cush was a son of Ham: Genesis 10:6) are thought to have lived where Ethiopia is today. Genesis suggests that the dispersion was probably along family lines, and it may be that Ham's descendants were on average darker than, say, Japheth's. However, it could just as easily have been the other way around.

Rahab, mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, was a Canaanite. A descendant of Ham, she must have married an Israelite. Since this was a union approved by God, it shows that the particular “race” she came from was not important. It mattered only that she trusted in the true God of Israel. Ruth, a Moabitess, also features in the genealogy of Christ. She expressed faith in the true God before her marriage to Boaz (Ruth 1:16). The only marriages God warns against are God's people marrying unbelievers.

Reference: http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/race-blacks.html

As to the point of being different, I relish it, I thrive on it, I would not want to be like anyone else. But God said we are ALL created in His image which make us all equal in His sight. Is it not His sight that really matters?

Hope this helps.

Love in Christ,
Bev

[Carla]

Hi Empress,

I found this at www.gotquestions.org

****************
Question: "Are there any black people mentioned in the Bible?"

Answer: The Bible does not specifically identify any person as being black-skinned. The Bible also does not specifically identify any person as being white-skinned. The vast majority of the Bible took place in the Middle East, in and around Israel. Neither "black" nor "white" people are common in these regions. The vast majority of the people in the Bible were "Semitic," light to dark brown in complexion. Ultimately, it does not matter what skin color the people in the Bible were. Skin color is meaningless in the message of the Bible. We all need to take our eyes off of the skin and focus on the soul.

Some scholars guess that Moses’ wife Zipporah might have been black since she was a Cushite (Numbers 12:1). Cush is an ancient name for an area of Africa. Some propose that Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3) was black. Some believe that the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1) was black. The Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:37 may have been a black man. Ethiopians are mentioned around 40 times in the Bible, and the Prophet Jeremiah asked, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin ..." (Jeremiah 13:23). The "Simeon called Niger" in Acts 13:1 may have been black.

The Bible, though, does not specifically say that any of these people were black. Most Bible teachers believe that black people are descendants of Noah’s son Ham (Genesis 10:6-20), but we cannot be sure since the Bible does not specifically say. Why aren't there more black people in the Bible? The vast majority of events in the Bible took place in the land of Israel. Although black people were common in many regions nearby Israel, Israel has never been an area where many black people have settled.

******************

Empress,

I'm sorry that you had to deal with that racism, that is heartbreaking...Only the Lord can deliver them from their racism.

God tells us what we need to know. I believe information isn't in the bible, because God doesn't want our focus to be on things which are of little consequence. It is the same for the appearance of Jesus. The bible does not tell us much of what He looked like..because it doesn't matter. God looks at our hearts. God wants us to BE like Jesus..not look like Him.

The answer I know to be true is this: AlMighty God is Creator of Everything. He is a Creative being. Each of us in made in His image, to reflect Him and His Glory and His fullness ....on a very small level. Who can fully understand God?...no one! In addition to creating us...look around the world and let yourself be swept away by the Awesomeness of who He is by His creation... go for a walk in the country and have a talk with God. He will reassure you who you are to Him. You are His Beloved!

Love and blessings, Carla

[jacquelyn washington]

Let us make a joyful noise to the Lord and reveal his splendid plan for our lives and for us to all get along and to do away with foolishness and display his act of kindness and love for us. I thank God for truth because I could have been a lost person and on my way to hell but thank God for people out there who is not misleading but leading one another to the Father's heart. His greatest attribute is love and not of hatred. So thank you for this and not betraying the truth with false information.
Your sister in Jesus Christ!

[Nienie]

Hi Empress
Did you accept Ciirst in your life? When you have, HE said in His word that HE accepts you as His child, no matter what your colour is. The most important thing in our life, I believe, is to be right standing before God. He loves you as you are. He made us all for a purpose and that is to serve Him and each other with love and compassion. God made us in His image and I cant remember reading that it was only a for a specific race or colour. When you accepts Christ you became His child and it doesnt matter to Him if you are black or white or whatever, but if you are having a relationship with Him!!
I know it is important for people to know their origin but that mustnt be such a surge that is hinders your relationship with Him. The word also teach us that we dont know everything but one day we will see Him and will know the truth!
PRay for those who struggles with racism for God has to touch their hearts. WE can all live together on earth and live peaceful but the hardness of peoples lives hinders that.
Love the Lord with all your heart, forgive those who hurt you and pray for them(then can God work in their lives),and grow in your relationship with Him, He wants to live a abundant life!!
Blessings Nienie

[jacquelyn washington]

How beautiful and splendid he is to all and you truly showed the truth to being a true Christ follower of him. Thanks for God using your well put words.
Your sister in Christ!

[Knowledge of Self]

Peace and greetings!

First of all its has been scientificly proven that black are the original people of the planet Earth. The oldest homo sapiens bones discovered were in africa and they are 200,000 year old. Later later around 50,000 year black people migrated into West Asia(Europe) and mutation occured producing what we now call white people. I understand how religion can create this type of confusion. you might wanna check out a book called the "Africans who wrote the bible" or "African Presence in the Bible" for starters. You want learn this in a some theology school. Keep in mind that historicly black people were taught christianity during slavery. Their were no slaves at anytime that were christians. It was a tool used to keep blacks submissive and passive,(look it up)! And another person commented that black people didnt' live in the middle east...WHAT! First off black, Africa is not the only place where black people have been inhabited. Evidence of plack people have been found 196,940,000sq miles all over the planet earth. Look up the black people in Australia, New Guinea, Asia and Even America(Olmec). What I'm telling you is not bias information this is knowledge that black and white scientist agree on world wide.

Here are some links for to further research about the mutation of white people.

http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/seso stris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/th e-original-africans-of-europe-by-ogu-eji -ofo-annu/

http://www. foxnews. com/story/0,2933,331949,00. html

Papua New Guinea (03/09)

[Carla]

Hello Self Knowledge,

This link that you posted here is a rastafarian viewpoint which seems to point to evolution as truth from a rastafarian perspective. Evolution is purely based on assumption and not on fact. This link seems to give a rastafarian twist... It does not at all line up with scripture.

In God's eyes all are created equal.

Blessings, Carla

[SavedYouzer]

Hey Empress... I first want to say... the ignorace of some people is incredibly hurtful and decietful... -Amen Let me start by saying... So if what she says is true then she is going totally against The Word! According to The Bible, it says God knew you before you were concieved. Even to the point it goes as far as saying... for he knows every "hair" on your body.
Hmmmmm. So God made you purposely with dark skin to kill you? LoL... Secondly ALL throughout The Word... it states Our Father is a God of LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! LOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Luhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- Oveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! (Sorry Just Want You To see it Clearly!) DO NOT LET SATAN DECIEVE YOU OR USE OTHERS TO DECIEVE YOU! He made you for a purpose. Do not listen to the word of man ( or Female) for they speak lies and DECIET!!! The Lord Loves you! How do I know? Because its IN HIS WORD! NOWHERE! I REPEAT NOWHERE does it say he will come and kill any one or judge them because of their skin! Maybe the Jewish girl is reading a diffrent "bible" or maybe its a typo... If she tells you those words again... Respectfully and politely say... "no sweetheart your reading it wrong, it say he will judge those according to their SIN not SKIN! LoL... God Bless you Sister, and stay STRONG! And Im going to tell you a good Brother of mine told me on this site... ALWAYS READ THE WORD! AND IF ANYONE SAYS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT IN THE WORD IT IS
FALSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEE! HE LOVES YOU DONT YOU "EVER" FORGET THAT!!!

[Kahron]

Hello There,

As far as the slavery for four hundred years, that's nothing to brag about on the behave of the Lady who told you that. In the Bible, it says in Genesis that the country that enslaves those people for four hundred years will be punished. That is in every version of the Holy Bible, but people tend to not read that.

[ENAMOURED]

God has created all people in His image, He is not a racist God.

Genesis 9:19
All men who have ever lived since the Flood came from these 3 sons of Noah (Genesis 10:32). The "one blood" of Acts 17:26 is that of Adam through Noah. All physical characeristics of the whole race were present in genetics of Noah, his sons, and their wives.

I hope this helps sister and the world has no clue of God's creation for we are all one in Him whom dwells in us.

[Scribe D'Nucov]

Dear Empress, I’d like to deconstruct your question and answer it with actual historical facts; because you cover several topics in one post. To answer the headline: Yes - there are “black” people mentioned in the Bible, which I will demonstrate a little further on.

Regarding Ham:
1. Not all of Ham’s descendants are “black” and not all “black” skinned people can be demonstrated as Ham’s descendants. There are many “black” descendants of Shem. There are even “black” Jews from Ethiopia and other parts of Africa who have become Israeli citizens.
2. The curse of Ham would only have been in existence until Christ – under the New Covenant there is no distinction of ethnicity or status (Galatians 3:28) and Christ has removed all curses.
3. In ancient times, many African nations were prosperous – in terms of medieval conditions of prosperity. There were city-states in Africa which rivaled the best of Rome.
[Therefore, making a connection between Ham’s curse in > 3500 BC and the African slave trade from AD 1605 - AD 1867 is bogus]

Regarding 400 years of African slavery:
1. Under the Roman Empire, more than 200 Million Europeans, Jews, Arabs, Persians and Africans were enslaved by the Romans for more than 500 years. Europeans and Jews were recorded in the multitudes as being enslaved – in fact the Jews were dispersed as slaves across the entire Roman Empire after AD 70. The term “Slav” as referring to the “Slavic” people is where the term slave comes from. This is because the Romans enslaved these people for hundreds of years. During the first century AD, there were 60 Million slaves in the empire and they were primarily not Africans.
2. During the early Colonial times, Native Americans of the Caribbean isles and coasts were enslaved, as well as more than a hundred thousand Scots and Irish in the original 13 American colonies. (This is the history of my own ancestors).
3. As you can see from considering the dates, there was not a period of 400 years African slave trade under Colonialism. Whoever said that is ignorant.
4. If Jews mention slavery to you, you may want to point out to them that it was Africans (Egyptians) who first enslaved the Jews. Then, the Assyrians enslaved them (this is where Samaritans come from) and then it was the Babylonians and then it was the Persians. So, if we’re going to discuss a curse on Africans – let’s not miss the fact that Jews were enslaved for more time over the history of the world.

I have known many Jews, and I’m certain that this is some minority opinion or interpretation and not typical Jewish theology today. However, it is important to understand that Jews who have not received Christ are under the spiritual “blindness” of unbelief in Christ – they are not the arbiters of what God’s word means – so don’t put a lot of stock in their teachings. They have missed significant things that keep them from seeing the Mystery of the Gospel.

Regarding Black people in the Bible:
1. Two of David’s noteworthy ancestors were non-Jewish (non-Semitic) and one of them was clearly “black” (consider the women in his geneology, who were Hamitic). David was described as having a “Ruddy” (or dark) complexion. Solomon married a woman who was a dark skinned woman (see the Song of Solomon). Furthermore, he also married other wives and one of them was Sheba, the queen of Ethiopia.
2. Considering the above, that would mean that Jesus of Nazareth was also descended from some Hamitic (black) ancestors.
3. Moses left his Arabic wife Zipporah in Midian, but later married a Cushite woman (Cush was a black African Kingdom that covered vast areas south and west of Egypt). Moses’ sister Miriam did not like him having a Cushite wife and demanded that Moses leave her in Egypt. It seems that this was because of the color of her skin and possibly her culture. We learn that God did not like Miriam’s attitude and struck her with a unique form of leprosy that caused Miriam’s skin to turn chalky white, until she repented of her bigotry. (See Numbers Chapter 12).
4. One of the first Gentile believers was a black man – the Ethiopian Eunuch that God supernaturally sent Phillip to evangelize. (Acts 8:37)
5. The Coptic church and the Ethiopian Church have been filled with Egyptian, Ethiopian and Arab believers since the first century – which they trace their spiritual heritage to the Ethiopian Eunuch. These are people that we may consider to be “black”.
6. The fastest growing segment of Christianity right now is in Africa. There are churches of every denomination there. Ever since the days of David Livingstone, Christianity has been growing among Africans. Some of the most dedicated and worshipful Christians you will meet are African believers. Some of the best success stories of ecumenical collaboration for evangelism is in Africa. Some of the most successful growing congregations in the US are led by “black” Pastors.

Sadly, many people have used the “curse of Ham” to justify their ungodly behavior and attitudes toward “black people”. I believe this is a terrible offense to Christ. They will have to face Christ on Judgment day for their sin and give account. When they do so, consider that Christ is the “son of David” by God’s account. Consider that three of the faithful women that God specifically mentions in the Bible are “women of color” (Rahab, Ruth and the Cushite wife of Moses). Two of those are specifically named in Christ’s geneology.

The point of the Gospel is that all of us – every man and woman and child – must come to Christ with humility. We must come to the foot of the cross and receive a Savior who sacrificed all for us. His blood speaks of total surrender.

To be a Christian is to be a person who totally surrenders all to Jesus. That includes prejudice and any sense of favoritism or entitlement. God is no respecter of persons. Status, nationality, ethnicity and wealth mean absolutely nothing to him. He has made a new creation and a new “nation” out of us. (1 Peter 2:9)

We can hold no allegiance higher than our allegiance to Christ. If we put family first, or if we put ethnicity first, or if we put nationality first, we do not have a true relationship with Jesus (Luke 14:26). We may all be proud of our ancestors and the things they have endured, the lessons they learned or the heritage they have passed on to us. But none of that means anything at the foot of the cross. None of that is of greater significance than the blood of Christ.

I’ll tell you this: at the judgment day, many “black” people will be seated with Christ. And many who have mistreated them will be judged and found guilty of sin and unbelief.

[veronica boyd]

Scribe D' Nucov AMEN! To be a Christian is to be a person who totally surrenders all to Jesus"