2 - Africans and the Bible

Summary

The Bible has affected the lives of Africans and their descendants in the Diaspora possibly more than any other document in human history. This phenomenon can be divided into at least two spheres: The first features the roles and experiences of Africans in the Bible, while the second concerns the ways in which these roles and experiences have influenced Africans living in post-Biblical times. Because the Biblical account is seen by many as prescriptive, the interpretation of African roles in the narrative is critical, as it has often determined how post-Biblical Africans were treated. In particular, the Bible has been crucial to slavery, with both benefactors and detractors of the institution taking solace in its pages.

Egypt and Nubia in the Bible

Pharaohs of the twenty-fifth dynasty appear in the Old Testament as allies against the Assyrians, and Taharka (690–664 BCE) is mentioned by name (Isaiah 37:9; 2 Kings 19:9). Egypt and Nubia's union under this dynasty is demonstrated by the prophet Isaiah's conjoined messages to each (Isaiah 18–20). In language corresponding to Herodotus, Isaiah (18:2,7) writes this of Nubia:

Go, swift messengers to a nation tall and smooth,

To a people feared far and wide,

A powerful and oppressive nation

Whose land the rivers divide.

Such esteem for Nubia is consistent with the view of states along the Nile as powerful neighbors of Israel, ever present in regional affairs. Indeed, the very formation of the Hebrew people is intimately associated with Egypt and Nubia.